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General Management Plan Development Concept Plan Interpretation and Visitor Experience Plan Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site August 1996 (Digitized July 2021)
On May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the United States Supreme Court unanimously declared, "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'Separate but Equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
A VISION FOR BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE The story of Brown v. Board of Education goes to the core of the American experience in the United States. The national historic site is a place where the concepts related to civil rights and equality are effectively communicated to all visitors, regardless of age, race, or background; where people are educated, inspired, provoked, and challenged; and where people understand how the historic Supreme Court decision has affected their everyday lives. The significance of the Supreme Court decision is communicated far beyond the national historic site's physical boundaries. The story of school desegregation, as well as the continuing story of the civil rights movement, is told here and at other national park system areas that are thematically related, and it is told in cooperation with related governmental agencies and private organizations throughout the nation.
Recommended: July 1, 1996 Jon H Holbrook, Project Manager, Denver Service Center
Concurred: July 1, 1996 Rayford Harper, Superintendent
Approved: July 1, 1996 William W. Schenk, Midwest Field Area
Summary The landmark U.S. Supreme Court Deci soon, Brown v. Board of Education, has in some way touched the lives of all U.S. citizens. It has affected families, communities, and governments by ending segregate ton in public schools. The significance of Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site and the story to be told is at the core of American history and what we as Americans are all about. The story represents a chapter in the maturation of America. The decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case reaffirmed the sovereign power of the people of the United States in the protection of their natural rights from arbitrary limits and restrictions imposed by state and local governments. These rights are recognized in the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. On October 26, 1992, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site was established in Topeka, Kansas, by Public Law 102-525 to commemorate this land mark Supreme Court decision. The national historic site boundary includes the Monroe School building and adjacent grounds, which have been acquired by the National Park Service. The National Park Service is required to prepare a general management plan. This opening it to the public and telling the Brown v. Board of Education story. Phase I of the plan meets the minimum requirements for opening the site and would include interim actions to provide the minimum conditions needed to preserve and protect the resources, provide for public health and safety, and tell the basic interpretive story. Under phase I visitors will come into the school and learn basic information about the Brown story through personal contacts with NPS staff, site-produced exhibits and brochures, and commercially available audiovisual programs and publications. Personal programs including offsite pro grams for groups and organizations will be a high priority, although the number of programs given will be fewer than in phase II due to limited staffing. The major site stories and themes will be interpreted, but fewer professionally designed interpretive media will available than those described for phase II. There will also be less at the site to attract visitors under phase I. Nonetheless, considering the significance and emotional impact of the interpretive story, the quality of NPS personal programs, and possibilities for interpretive media produced through partnerships, the site visitor experience will meet NPS standards. Most visitor experience goals will be met. The building will be protected and made safe for visitor access. In phase II the National Park Service will fulfill the vision and goals for the site to the best of its ability. In addition to meeting phase I goals, the National Park Service will enhance resource protection, better serve diverse audiences (including children, visitors with disabilities, the elderly, and foreign visitors), and tell the in-depth story of Brown v. Board through a variety of interactive interpretive media and personal services. As in phase I, visitor experience will focus on the stories rather than the school or artifacts. Extensive use will be made of audiovisual media and interactive displays, along with the development of video conferencing and a computer resource center with links to universities, museums, and other related sites. Educational programs for schools and other groups will be offered daily.
The Draft General Management Plan I Development Concept Plan I Environ mental Assessment (NPS 1996) analyzed the impacts of implementing the plan on the environment, including the natural and cultural resources and the socioeconomic environment. The most significant impacts of implementing this plan ·will be on the socioeconomic environment. Traffic con gestion and parking problems may increase with increases in the numbers of tourists. However, visitor traffic will not necessarily be during rush-hour traffic, and providing an off-street parking area will keep cars off neighborhood streets (even in phase II when more visitors are anticipated) and have less impact on the residential character of the area. On the positive side, an increase in tourists will probably increase revenues for area businesses. Interest and the number of site visitors will increase in direct proportion to the amount of publicity, and the amount of publicity will be in proportion to the available activities and interpretive media. Under phase I a lower level of visitation and traffic is expected than in the phase II because of the initially limited media development. Personal onsite programs will be very effective, but they will be few because of limited staffing and sporadic visitation and because few people will know that they were available. Offsite programs will be effective, though early on will be fewer in number and have limited background research due to limited staffing. Under phase II the historic site will attract more visitors and thus increase neighbor hood traffic, but the amount of visitation and traffic cannot be precisely predicted at this time. The nationally significant story of the Brown v. Board decision and its impact on our American culture will be effectively told under phase II. A significant and growing number of site visitors, neighbors, and regional residents will understand both the historical events relating to the Brown story as well as their relevance to our lives today. Visitors to the site and to offsite programs will stimulate further study and introspection into topics such as civil rights, citizenship, the Constitution, and personal values. Visitors will better under stand the views and situations of others. Students will find topics of history and current events that relate strongly to their backgrounds. Visitation to other related sites (in Topeka and the nation) will probably increase. Offering NPS technical assistance to the city to maintain the neighborhood ambit once may help ensure that the neighbor hood evolves to a more residential character. Water and sewer demands will go up (minimally in phase I) but not beyond the capabilities of the existing service to the building. The increased operating times will increase the potential need for fire and police protection. However, the historic site is close to major fire and police stations. Some temporary job opportunities will be created by the renovation of Monroe School. Minimal opportunities will exist for permanent jobs. Employees will, however, contribute to the economy of Topeka. The public review and comment period on the draft document were 30 days and closed on June 14, 1996. Public meetings were held during the comment period. Attendees at the public meetings and written responses received indicated strong support for the plan. The NPS field director has determined that there would be no significant environ mental or socioeconomic impacts (see Appendix A: Finding of No Significant Impacts); thus, an environmental impact statement will not be prepared. Further information can be obtained at the following address:
Superintendent Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site 424 South Kansas Avenue, Suite 332 Topeka, KS 66603-3441 (913) 354-4273
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka: The Decision Past and Present THE DECISION
By denying African American children the right to enroll in white elementary schools, the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, became a part of the chain of events that led to the Supreme Court and the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. By fall 1952 the Supreme Court had on its docket this case from Kansas as well as cases from Delaware, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, and Virginia, all of which challenged the constitutionality of racial segregation in public schools. Only in the Topeka case did the facts show that both the black and white schools were fairly equal with respect to buildings, salaries, teachers, and other tangible factors. The issue before the Court was the constitutionality of segregation per se -- the question of whether the doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson should be affirmed or reversed. The principle of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case, although it legitimized racial segregation in the area of public transportation, carried over to the legitimacy of racial segregation in the schools. The Brown case was argued before the Supreme Court in December 1952. The death of Chief Justice Vinson delayed the reargument of the case until December 1953, after the appointment of Earl Warren as chief justice. On May 17, 1954, the Court issued its historic decision in which it concluded that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. After 60 years, Plessy v. Ferguson was overturned. This decision, written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, was momentous. The social and ideological impact of the case cannot be overestimated. The decision was unanimous. The issue of the legal separation of the races was settled. Segregation violated the 14th amendment of the Constitution and was unconstitutional. Testimony concerning the effect of the segregation of the races in the Topeka elementary schools was included in the findings of the United States District Court for Kansas, and the Supreme Court adopted this language as the basis for its decision. The specific language quoted by the Supreme Court in the Brown decision stated the following: Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law; for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has the tendency to [retard] the educational and mental development of Negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they would receive in a racial[ly] integrated school system. The Brown decision reminds us of the words of Mr. Justice John Marshall Harlan who wrote in his famous dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson that "Our Consti¬tution is color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among our citizens. In respect to civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law." A TURNING POINT WITH MEANING FOR TODAY The Brown decision of May 1954 was a turning point for the civil rights struggles of African Americans. Up until and including Brown, all progress toward equal rights had been achieved through the courts. This Supreme Court decision, which ended the doctrine of separate but equal in public education, had a farreaching effect on the hearts and minds of African Americans. As a result, unequal treatment would no longer be tolerated. This sentiment led to the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, sparked by Rosa Parks. The boycott resulted in a less heralded Supreme Court decision in 1956, outlawing segregation in public transportation. Also in 1955, in a later decision known as Brown II, the Supreme Court issued an implementation order for "all deliberate speed" for the desegregation of public schools. But many states and localities, especially in the South, either evaded or refused to comply with the Court order. Without implementation, the 1954 decision lacked much real weight. In his book, Crusaders in the Courts (1994), Jack Greenberg, former head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) Legal Defense and Educational Fund, outlines the impact of Brown on the modern civil rights movement. He refers to events and people emboldened by the Supreme Court's words. (The following is paraphrased from Greenberg's book.) On May 17, 1957, there was Martin Luther King Jr.'s prayer pilgrimage held to mark the third anniversary of the Brown decision. In fall 1957 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People enlisted nine African American students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.: Association youth councils in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Wichita, Kansas, sat in at lunch counters beginning in 1958. By 1960 a new spirit was sweeping the country. This new spirit (the civil rights movement) led to more sitins; spread to Freedom Rides; gave birth to the demands for full equality in all aspects of American life that in its nonviolent expression was personified by Martin Luther King Jr.; and made inevitable the historic civil rights legislation of 1964 and beyond. The Brown decision is the link between past, present, and future generations of Americans who are reminded that our history moves forward not only as a result of the actions of our leaders but also from the actions of ordinary Americans who in their everyday lives struggle to achieve a more just and equal way of life for themselves and their children. INTRODUCTION On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and, as such, violate the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees all citizens "equal protection of the laws." The Supreme Court decision was the result of a challenge by the NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Cases were brought on the behalf of African American schoolchildren who were denied access to their neighborhood schools for white children. One of these cases was brought in Topeka, Kansas (see Region map), by a local NAACP chapter. Among the plaintiffs was Oliver Brown, whose daughter was denied admission to Sumner Elementary School, an allwhite school near their home. Because of segregation she was forced to attend Monroe Elementary, a school for African American children that was almost 2 miles away. Oliver Brown joined 12 other plaintiffs in Topeka to challenge an 1879 Kansas law that permitted segregation of races in elementary schools. Children of the Topeka plaintiffs had to travel past and away from nearby schools to attend one of four schools designated for African Americans. The case was filed in February 1951 and was titled Oliver Brown et al. v the Board of Education of Topeka. The Kansas case was an unsuccessful challenge to the law affecting Topeka public schools, and it was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Similar NAACP cases were already pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. In Delaware the Belton v. Gebhart and Bulah v. Gebhart cases involved schools for Negroes that were "inferior with respect to teacher training, pupilteacher ratio, extracurricular activities, physical plant, and time and distance involved in travel." In the District of Columbia the Bolling v. Sharpe case involved junior high youths who were refused admission to white schools when their school was grossly unequal in physical condition, located in a rundown part of town, and lacking in adequate educational materials. In South Carolina the Briggs v. Elliot case involved 20 African Americans who sought better schools than their wooden shacks, transportation and educational provisions that met basic needs, and equal teachers' salaries. In Virginia the Davis v. Prince Edward County case involved 117 African American high school students who chose to strike rather than attend school in a building that needed repair and indoor plumbing. These five Supreme Court cases were consolidated, and the Brown v. Board of Education case became the lead case. (Note: Hereafter this case and story will often be referred to as the Brown case, decision, or story.) The Supreme Court decision on Brown v. Board of Education reversed an 1896 Supreme Court decision (Plessy v. Ferguson) that permitted "separate but equal" in the use of public transportation facilities. In 1954 the Supreme Court concluded that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, thus effectively denying the legal basis for segregation in the 21 states with segregation laws and segregated schoolrooms and starting a revolution in the legal status of black Americans that continues to this day. The location and quality of facilities of the schools in Topeka and the quality of education they provided to African American children were material to the finding of the Supreme Court in the Brown decision. The facts that the teachers' salaries were equal in the schools and the black teachers in Topeka were often better educated than the white teachers were also important. The essential question in the case was then no longer whether segregated facilities were equal (as had been argued in previous cases); separateness itself was on trial. The other four cases demonstrated inferior facilities for blacks, which was generally the case wherever segregation was mandated.
The Brown decision had, and continues to have, ramifications in virtually every community and state in this country as well as throughout the world, and it is one of the foundation blocks for the civil rights movement. A more detailed history of the events that led to the Brown decision is in appendix B.
HISTORIC SITE ESTABLISHMENT On October 26, 1992, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site was established in Topeka, Kansas, by Public Law 102525 to commemorate the landmark Supreme Court decision that ended segregation in public schools (see Vicinity map and appendix C). The national historic site boundary includes the Monroe School building and adjacent grounds, which have been acquired by the National Park Service. The legislation directs administration of the historic site and defines the purposes of the site. The legislation also permits the acquisition (on a willingseller basis) of personal property associated with and appropriate for interpreting the historic site that is for telling the site's significant story to the public through interpretive media such as exhibits, brochures, rangerled tours, films, etc. The legislation also permits the development of cooperative agreements with private as well as public agencies, organizations, and institutions to further tell the story of the integration of public education in the context of the civil rights movement to ensure that the full story of the events that preceded and followed the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision could be preserved and told. Such agreements may be sought with public and private agencies and organizations within or outside Topeka that are responsible for and interpret associated resources.
PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR THE PLAN The National Park Service is required to prepare general management plans to guide administration and development of units in the national park system. These plans provide guidance for NPS managers, generally for 10 to 15 years, on how to protect a park unit's natural and cultural resources while providing opportunities for visitors to understand, enjoy, and appreciate the reasons for which the park or site was established in this case to commemorate the landmark Supreme Court decision that ended segregation in public schools. The purposes of this General Management Plan for Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site are to • provide a framework to accomplish legislative objectives • identify and involve appropriate con¬stituencies for advice on major decisions • recommend ways to protect significant resources • relate development to preservation and interpretation needs • identify the site audiences and determine how to best communicate major messages • prepare the groundwork for drafting cooperative agreements with appropriate agencies and organizations to ensure preservation and interpretation of the historic site and its stories
This General Management Plan represents the combined efforts of the National Park Service; representatives of the state of Kansas, Shawnee County, the city of Topeka and its residents; and the people from all over the country who sent in the response forms in the planning newsletters. It also represents the efforts of the participants in a December 1993 workshop, many of whom took part in the actual events that led up to and through the court case and/or who have dedicated their lives to seeing that the promises inherent in the Brown decision are fulfilled. The purpose of a development concept plan is to describe in greater detail the proposed development that will occur at the site. The development concept plan provides the basic development recommendations from the planners to the designers and provides the bridge between planning and design and ultimately whatever construction is necessary to fulfill the development proposals in the general management plan. The attached Interpretation and Visitor Experience Plan describes in more detail the essential interpretive story and visitor experiences and recommends ways to tell that story, provide those experiences, and meet management goals. The management plan described later in this document, and the attached Interpretation and Visitor Experience Plan, constitute a longrange interpretive plan that will guide media and program development for the site for the next decade or more. The environmental assessment included as part of the draft plan analyzed the potential environmental effects of implementing the plan and was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SITE The significance of Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site and the story to be told is at the core of American history and what we as Americans are all about. The story represents a chapter in the maturation of America. The decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case reaffirmed the sovereign power of the people of the United States in the protection of their natural rights from arbitrary limits and restrictions imposed by state and local governments. These rights are recognized in the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. This case was one in a long series of civil rights cases filed by African Americans. The outcome provided an important impetus for this country's civil rights movement. Not only was the decision a turning point for African Americans in their struggle for equal rights, it was also a milestone and an example for all citizens who had been deprived of fundamental rights. As a result of the Brown decision, the promise given to all of the people under the 14th amendment to the Constitution for equal protection under law was again affirmed and guaranteed. The Brown decision has touched and affected the lives of all U.S. citizens. The farreaching social and ideological implications continue to be felt throughout our country. Monroe and Sumner Elementary Schools comprise a designated national historic landmark in recognition of their roles in the events leading up to the Supreme Court decision. Segregated schools and the quality of education they provided were material to the Supreme Court decision. These schools symbolized the harsh reality of discrimination under the doctrine of separate but equal (allowed by the 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson) and the promise of equality embodied in the 14th amendment, which was not realized until after the 1954 decision.
PURPOSES OF THE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE The purposes of Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, as stated in Public Law 102525, are to • preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the places that contributed materially to the landmark United States Supreme Court decision that brought an end to segregation in public education • interpret the integral role of the Brown case in the civil rights movement • assist in the preservation and interpretation of rel ted resources within the city of Topeka that further the understanding of the civil rights movement ASSUMPTIONS Several assumptions have been made for this General Management Plan for Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. In tandem with the goals of the plan (see below), these assumptions are a guide for understanding what may be feasible at the site. Planning • Public, state, and local agencies and private institutions will be involved in every planning step. Among these will bethe Kansas State Historical Society and the city of Topeka. Site Resources • The NPS boundary protects Monroe School, but several sites important to the story in Topeka, including Sumner School, are outside the historic site boundary. Sumner School could become threatened in the future. • The period of significance for the school is 19501955. • The architecture of the building will not be the focus of interpretation. • Maintaining a residential community around Monroe School is desirable.
Visitor Experience • The interpretive story is very important. • The story is emotional, controversial, and complex. • This story is related to other federal, state, local, and private cultural resources throughout the country. • Visitor services will be provided in Monroe Elementary School. • A high proportion of visitors will be schoolchildren.
Site Operations
• The national historic site will have a staff of seasonal and permanent employees. • Archival collections will be maintained in cooperation with other existing repositories. • Cityowned Cushinberry Park will be improved and will be used to enhance the national historic site.
MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS
Management objectives, prepared for each NPS unit, provide a framework for conserving site resources, integrating the site into its surrounding environment, and accommodating public use in accord with NPS management policies. The following are the management objectives for the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. The actions following are statements of how to achieve the goals.
Interpretation Visitors will understand the farreaching implications of Brown v. Board of Education, the importance of participating in the democratic process to secure fundamental rights, and the sacrifices people have made and continue to make to secure these rights. Actions: Define interpretive themes and programs that accurately portray the significance of Brown v. Board of Education and the perspectives of various groups regarding the case, including divergent views of African Americans both before and after the decision was handed down. Relate both the positive and negative effects of the decision. Interpret the case in the context of the ongoing civil rights movement. Provide a variety of interpretive and visitor services. Provide exhibits that effectively convey the story and are easily maintained. Provide interpretive information for visitors who arrive after the building/site is closed. Offer interpretive programs in local schools and at sites throughout the country that are related to the case; coordinate interpretive programs to ensure that the story is told fully and accurately. Maintain information about other national park system units, as well as state, local, and private facilities, that are related to this story.
Resource Preservation Monroe School and its grounds will be protected and used for visitor purposes, and other sites in Topeka that are related to the Brown case and the civil rights movement will be interpreted. Actions: Restore the exterior of Monroe Elementary School to the period of significance (19501955) and rehabilitate the interior for adaptive use. Complete a cultural landscape report, historic resource study, and historic structure report. Design interior spaces that are flexible and that can be used for a various programs and functions. Ensure that uses are compatible with the building. Assist private and public organizations in preserving other resources within the city of Topeka that are related to the Brown case and the civil rights movement.
Education Information related to the purposes of the national historic site will be provided to the public to enhance educational opportunities. Actions: Provide access to a reference library for materials related to the case for researchers, students, and the general public. Develop cooperative agreements with existing repositories and provide access to original resource materials related to the national historic site.
Visitor Safety Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site will be designed and operated to ensure a safe environment. Actions: Provide universal accessibility to Monroe Elementary School. Provide safe and easily accessible parking and other facility functions and services.
Partnerships The National Park Service will maintain strong partnerships with the local community, the city and county, and the state, as well as with other agencies and private organizations to provide for associated resource protection, interpretation, and visitor services. Actions: Maintain an ongoing, positive relationship 'Nith the surrounding neighborhood and the greater community of Topeka. Establish cooperative agreements with appropriate entities. Advocate maintaining the residential character of the neighborhood surrounding the site. Encourage staff to participate in community groups and organizations.
SITE RESOURCES MONROE SCHOOL
The School At the time of its construction, Monroe School was one of four elementary schools in Topeka serving the black community. The other elementary schools for black children were the Washington School, which no longer survives, the McKinley School, and the Buchanan School. The McKinley and Buchanan Schools survive, but they are no longer owned by the Topeka Board of Education. The McKinley School is used as a storage building, and the Buchanan School was remodeled for use as an office building. Like its counterparts, Monroe Elementary School reflects a time of prosperity and concentrated civic improvement in Topeka. Newspaper accounts at the time indicate a desire by the Topeka School Board to replace aging schools with modern and progressive buildings. Built in 1926, on a lot adjoining an older eightroom elementary school building of the same name, the school was considered modern both in materials and design. Designed by the prominent Topeka architect Thomas W. Williamson, whose firm specialized in academic buildings, the Monroe structure incorporated the latest amenities and facilities for the empirical and scientific education of children. In addition to the new larger and linear design for the building, the architect selected the finest of modern and prefabricated materials, including structural tile walls, pouredinplace structural concrete slabs, terrazzo floors, steel window sash, standard wooden doors and moldings, expanded steel lath, modular brick, and precut limestone panels. The use in the 1920s of the popular Italian Renaissance style relates both to the newly available technology of veneer masonry and the desire to capture the spirit of the high Renaissance in education. Monroe had 13 classrooms, including a special kindergarten area, and offices and a gymnasium/auditorium. Most of the original interior finish materials in the school survive. Maple flooring, terrazzo, tile wainscot, gougeresistant plaster walls, obscure glass doors, simple oak moldings, and the outlines of slate chalkboards testify to 50 years of institutional use. Although some of the walls separating classrooms have been removed, the interior and exterior of the building maintain a high degree of structural and architectural integrity. Monroe School is essentially the same today as it was in the early 1950s. The building itself provided material evidence for arguments presented in hearings before the U.S. District Court in Topeka and the U.S. Supreme Court. Attorneys used comparisons of the city's elementary school buildings, faculty, and educational materials to document the rather equitable conditions in Topeka, thereby highlighting racial separation as the primary issue in the Kansas case. Monroe School was designated as part of a national historic landmark in 1991 for its significance in the civil rights movement in the United States. The building, on its1.85 acre lot, faces a large grassy park and is in a residential and lowdensity commercial I industrial neighborhood (see Existing Conditions map). Monroe School was closed in 1975 due to declining enrollment. The school was purchased by the National Park Service in December 1993, but it is not occupied or open to the public. Viewed in context, Monroe School is connected to the Brown case and has a quality, simplicity, and clarity of design that forms a backdrop to support interpretation.
The Cultural Landscape The cultural landscape of Monroe School consists of the property itself and the individual features and components that gave the property its simple, vernacular character during its period of significance, the early 1950s. Specific features and components include Monroe School, the level playgrounds on the north and south sides of the building, the small parking area behind the building, the concrete courtyard area at the entrance, the open playground and backstop on the adjacent lot, the flagpole, the fairly open views from the northeastern corner of the playground, the residences on the south and west sides of the school lot, all the sidewalks and steps on the school lot, Monroe and 15th Streets adjacent to the school lots, the alley on the west side of the school lot, and the railroad rightofway on the east side of the playground. These landscape features and components are simple and vernacular in character, appear representative of Topeka elementary schools of the period, and reflect national trends in educational "play" theory. This theory was based on the belief that outdoor recreation directly influenced the development of a child's moral character. During the early period of Monroe School, the 1920s1930s, children were often segregated by sex in separate playgrounds. At Monroe, this early practice is reflected in the building, with an exit from the girls' bathroom leading to the south playground, and an exit from the boys' restroom leading to the north playground. By the period of significance, however, this practice of segregation by sex had declined, and building and playground use was organized by age group. The south playground was used by the primary grades (kindergarten, first, and second), and the north playground was used by the intermediate grades. The concrete courtyard in front of the main entrance was used for hopscotch, 4square, jump rope, jacks, etc. The grassy playground across Monroe Street (east) was used in several ways. It was used by the older grades, particularly the boys, for softball, baseball, track, and football. It was also used for organized track and field events for all of the black schools in Topeka. This playground was used as a play area for several years before its purchase by the city in 1934. The overall organization and visual character of the existing landscape reflects the historic character. The smallscale details, particularly the playground equipment, are missing.
CHALLENGES FOR PLANNERS Visitors to more traditional units of the national park system usually visit the orientation / visitor center and then see "the park." At Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, however, Monroe School must function as the orientation/ visitor center and also as "the park." It is the planners' premise that the visitors' experience at the site should be much more than just entering a former neighborhood school, seeing a few exhibits, and reminiscing over a restored classroom or two that may evoke childhood memories. The experience at Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site should be an experience of the mind, the soul, and the heart. Visitors should be challenged and provoked as they realize that the struggle of the people depicted at the site is not just the struggle of a minority; it is the struggle of all American people to bring to fruition the promises set forth in the Bill of Rights.
ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE PLAN Developing a clear understanding of the events that led up to the 1954 decision and how that decision has impacted this country and identifying how to best communicate that story are the major challenges of this planning effort. This management plan should address what needs to happen to preserve and protect the resources of the site and interpret the story and to provide for visitor use. Specific issues to be discussed will include the following.
Treatment of Building and Grounds Monroe School has not been used for several years. The grounds have evolved into open grassy areas. The plan must assess proper treatment of the grounds and building.
Other Community Planning Efforts and Adjoining Land Use Historically, the neighborhood around Monroe School was residential; nearby Cushinberry Park, owned and managed by the city and just east of the school, was a popular neighborhood park. In recent years the neighborhood has evolved into a mixed residential / light industrial / commercial area, and Cushinberry Park is in a state of disrepair and is seldom used by area residents. Several proposals are being made by developers who are interested in commercial development in the downtown area, including areas near Monroe School. Also, a new magnet school is being constructed one block north of Monroe School. The National Park Service must determine what effect(s) these conditions might have on the visitor experience and evaluate ways to work in partnership with others to mitigate these effects, if desirable.
Site Administration, Operations, and Staffing Staffing at the site consists of the superintendent, administrative officer, chief of interpretation, and a seasonal secretary and maintenance worker. This staffing level will not accommodate the expected increase in visitor use after the school isopen to the public. The plan must evaluate what staffing level is needed to meet NPS goals. Most maintenance work is being contracted out, and the National Park Service is renting offsite office space. The plan must assess if these are the most efficient and costeffective ways to accomplish NPS goals.
Visitor Access There is no information about the national historic site in the tourist information literature, and there are no signs on the highway that tell visitors how to get to the site. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site is only one of many visitor attractions in Topeka. However, the presence of this national park system unit and the numbers of visitors it will ultimately attract provide an added incentive for Topeka to present itself to those visitors as well. This information should be available, and the plan must present ways to achieve this goal.
Visitor Use The site is currently not open to visitors, although some tours can be scheduled with prior appointments. The only interpretive media to explain the Brown story are a portable exhibit and a site bulletin. The plan must assess what is needed to open the site and tell the Brown story in a manner consistent with NFS standards.
Parking The National Park Service must ensure that there is adequate parking for visitors and employees. After estimating parking needs, the plan must assess the limited existing parking spaces within a reasonable walking distance and whether those would prove sufficient without causing neighborhood disruption. If it appears that additional spaces are needed, the plan would evaluate ways to provide them.
Boundary Adjustments The plan must assess if a boundary adjustment is needed.
Cooperative Agreements This management plan must address the establishment of cooperative agreements with owners/managers of resources related to the story as stipulated in the legislation.
Community Impacts Topeka might experience some impacts associated with establishing a national historic site, such as increased visitation and traffic and demand for lodging. These impacts must be identified and addressed.
Sumner School Sumner School, which is part of a national historic landmark with Monroe School, will be closed at the end of the 19951996 school year by the Topeka school board, and the board has approached the National Park Service about possible NPS acquisition or use of the building. The National Park Service must determine what, if any, uses it would have for the school and what type of protection might be desirable.
Carrying Capacity The amount of and kind of visitor use permitted at Monroe must be influenced by and balanced with the need to preserve and conserve the structure and grounds. The proper carrying capacity for the site and strategies for not exceeding this capacity must be determined.
INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE The landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, is considered by many scholars to be one of the three most important decisions of the Supreme Court. The National Park Service is committed to telling the complete story of the court cases, the Supreme Court decision, the contexts of the cases around the country, and the roles of the cases in the American civil rights movement and in global efforts for human rights. The story of Brown v. Board of Education is complex, emotional, and often controversial. Visitors will bring diverse experi ences, knowledge, backgrounds, opinions, and values. The scope of the Brown story extends far beyond the boundaries of this historic site and the Monroe School and beyond Topeka. Therefore, an effective interpretation and education program is critical to telling the Brown story.
Interpretive Themes The following interpretive themes are the ideas, concepts, or stories that are central to the site's purpose, identity, and visitor experience. Every visitor should have access to these interpretive themes. These themes provide the framework and backbone of the site's interpretive program. They provide direction for planners and direction for designers of exhibits, publications, and audiovisual and personal programs. Below are summaries of the most important components of the Brown story. The complete interpretive themes can be found in the Interpretation and Visitor Experience Plan presented later in this document.
1. The Verdict On May 17, 1954, in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case, the United States Supreme Court unanimously declared "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This was one of the most significant decisions ever made by the Supreme Court; it changed the lives of people around the world. 2. The Effects The 1955 Brown 11 decision, which directed states to implement the Brown decision "with all deliberate speed," was met with varying responses throughout the country; although progress has been made since then in many areas, racial inequality of educational opportunity continues today. 3. Civil Rights Brown v. Board of Education illustrates the struggle of the American people to achieve basic guarantees of full civil rights for all citizens. 4. The People The Supreme Court decision was a culmination of the actions and commitment of ordinary citizens as well as leaders and jurists. 5. The Context The Supreme Court decision was also a product of social and legal history; of the evolution of public attitudes and beliefs; of 58 years of Courtsanctioned segregation and inequality in education; of the regional dynamics in Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia; of national politics; and of global trends following World War II. 6. The Constitution In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court addressed issues relating to the exercise of the sovereign power of the people of the United States to protect their natural rights from arbitrary restrictions and limits imposed by state and local governments. 7. The Common Denominators The laws and policies that were struck down by the Supreme Court decision were products of the human tendencies to prejudge, discriminate, and stereotype other people by their racial, ethnic, religious, or other physical, behavioral, or cultural characteristics. 9. Human Rights The decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case and other civil rights activities in the United States inspired and galvanized human rights struggles around the world.
Visitor Experience Goals The following visitor experience goals describe what experiences (cognitive, emotional, active, and sensory) the National Park Service would like to make available for visitors to the national historic site. Like interpretive themes, these goals provide direction for facility, landscape, and media designers, as well as for programs and partnerships. The National Park Service would provide opportunities for visitors to • learn the interpretive story, to the depth that they choose, through thematic interpretive media, a reference library/ media center, programs, and activities that are presented in ways that are meaningful and accessible to all visitors • consider different perspectives of issues relating to the site story • visit and understand the significance of other sites associated with the site story, including areas of the neighborhood surrounding Monroe School and the exteriors of sites such as the Sumner School and the U.S. District courtroom • understand and visualize the settings associated with the decision, including the disparities in communities and schools in the other four cases (in Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia) that constitute the Brown decision, and the appearance of Topeka (especially the neighborhoods around Monroe and Sumner Schools) around 1950 • better understand their obligations as citizens of a democracy and their ethical responsibilities to themselves and others • have access to indepth information on related topics such as legal and constitutional history, civil rights, and the sociology and psychology of discrimination • communicate with scholars, students, participants, and others involved or interested in equality in education and other civil rights issues • learn about other sites that preserve and interpret related topics, including (but not limited to) the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Independence National Historical Park, Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site, Manzanar National Historic Site, and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (see appendix D for further information) • have a safe, beneficial, and enjoyable visit
The Audience Two general types of site visitors can be anticipated: individuals and organized groups. Public visitation will be mostly from Kansas and neighboring states (a pattern common to most national park system areas), but a significant number of visitors will come from outside the region. Many will be drawn by the story. Some might be attracted because of an NPS sign on the highway. Others will be attracted by publicity in travel magazines, newspapers, television, and organizational communications such as newsletters. Organized groups will include schools, church and community groups, clubs and motor coach tours, and convention attendees. School groups will be a key audience.
THE PLAN
INTRODUCTION
This General Management Plan describes a phased plan for developing and managing the site, opening it to the public, and telling the Brown v. Board of Education story. Phase I meets the minimum requirements needed to open the school for visitors, preserve and protect the resources, and provide for public health and safety. All interpretive themes and most visitor experience goals will be addressed. However, most themes will not be fully interpreted, and the achievement of most visitor experience goals will not be fully realized until phase II is implemented. With the completion of phase II, the National Park Service will fulfill the vision and goals for the site to the best of its ability. In addition to meeting phase I goals, phase II will enhance resource protection and tell the indepth story of Brown v. Board through a variety of interactive interpretive media and personal services. The implementation of both phases will be done as funding becomes available. The following plan presents the National Park Service's resolution for the issues that were identified earlier in this document. However, for some issues, such as visitor parking, signs, boundary adjustment, and technical assistance, other options were available and were considered during the planning process (see the Draft General Management Plan I Development Concept Plan I Environmental Assessment, NPS 1996).
ACTIONS COMMON TO BOTH PHASES Certain actions will be common to both phases; these actions are described below.
Management Zoning Based on NPS policies, site resources, desired visitor experiences, and uses, the National Park Service will manage the lands within the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site as a historic zone; permitted activities in this zone include site operations, management functions, and visitor use.
Access and Signs There will be two primary ways to access the historic site. One will be from the Adams Street I Branner Trafficway exit off ofl70, south to 15th Street, and west past Cushinberry Park to Monroe School. This is the most direct access off I70 and will be used primarily by visitors traveling from outside the local area. The other way will be to direct visitors to Kansas Avenue (through the central business district) and south to 15th Street. From 15th Street visitors will turn east to 15th and Monroe. The National Park Service will install a sufficient number of directional signs and provide technical and financial assistance to the city and other tourism entities to develop additional signs and information for the national historic site and other tourist attractions. Signs on I70 will guide traffic directly to the site, which will avoid highvolume intersections.
Parking From 15th and Monroe, visitors will turn into the parking area on the north side of the road that is immediately across the street from the school. The National Park Service will lease this proposed citybuilt parking area just north of Monroe School for visitor parking (see Development Concept Plan map). It was determined that 4550 parking spaces and 35 bus/ RV parking spaces will be needed for visitor use. The property owned by the National Park Service will not be adequate. Because the city is willing, rather than seeking a boundary adjustment it was decided to let the city take the lead in providing a parking lot close to the school. The National Park Service will lease this lot. The Neighborhood and New Development
The National Park Service will provide technical assistance to the city/neighborhood to retain the ambience of the neighborhood as a residential area and ensure compatible uses. The National Park Service will also provide technical assistance to the city/neighborhood as they improve Cushinberry Park.
Monroe School Following the recommendations in the historic structure report (to be completed in 1997), the exterior of the Monroe School building will be restored to the appearance of the school circa 1950, its primary period of significance. Taking into consideration the information gleaned from a cultural landscape report, the school grounds and the adjacent land east of the school will be maintained to be compatible with the exterior appearance of the building and new use of the site. Some staff parking will be behind the school. The interior will be rehabilitated for visitor information and orientation, interpretive exhibits, NPS administrative offices, and offices for the cooperating association. Interior wall, floor, and ceiling treatments will be restored approximately to circa 1950 to maintain a traditional school ambience. The restoration of the school interior will not attempt to faithfully recreate the building as it was in 1950. Alterations will be undertaken to facilitate visitor use. The building will convey an identity as a school, but it will also serve as the visitor center and an education center. The school will be more a backdrop, a stage for the larger story of the Brown v. Board of Education case. But there should be a sense of place and a feeling for the original school and its place in the community. Restoration that includes facsimiles of original wall treatments and classroom blackboards will be more appropriate than a 1990s office building motif.
Carrying Capacity Carrying capacity is a measure used by the National Park Service to ensure that the integrity of the resources is not overly impacted by visitors and that the quality of the visitor experience is not diminished by overcrowding. One factor to be considered in determining carrying capacity is the structural capacity of the building. Based on the architectural and engineering studies conducted on Monroe School to date, structurally Monroe School is more than adequate for the uses set forth in this General Management Plan because it can reasonably accommodate about 700 people in the building at one time. However, several additional factors need to be considered for determining carrying capacity: (1) visitors must be able to move from one area to another; (2) there is a need for flexibility in providing activities for scheduled groups (e.g., when a program calls for a class to visit the exhibit area, it should be available); (3) it is impossible to exactly choreograph the movement of groups and other visitors; (4) there will be exhibits and other fixtures that reduce overall space; and (5) circulation corridors can be bottlenecks (especially during emergencies). Taking these factors into consideration and applying guidelines that the National Park Service has developed over years of experience, it has been determined that the overall carrying capacity should be about 300350 in the school at one time on a regular basis. This figure may need to be adjusted as development proceeds and experience accumulates.
Site Maintenance and Law Enforcement Routine and minor maintenance work will be done by NPS staff; major site maintenance will be contracted out. The maintenance division will be responsible for the building and grounds maintenance and operation and upkeep of the equipment. A maintenance shed will be on the school grounds or in nearby leased space. Law enforcement will be used to ensure visitor protection and safety and compliance with NPS regulations. Although the historic site is near downtown Topeka, NPS personnel will enhance the city's ability to provide security and protection to the site. NPS 9, "Law Enforcement Guideline," requires active law enforcement commissioned rangers to handle (complete case incident reports and investigate) criminal activities within the historic site. Rangers will patrol the school site to supplement local law enforcement; a ranger presence will deter crime at the site and in the neighborhood and serve as an indicator that applicable regulations are being enforced. Unobtrusive law enforcement techniques, such as electronic sensors, may be used to supplement ranger patrols in late evenings. For electronic devices to be effective, rangers must be available to respond. In addition, law enforcement staff will enhance relations among the National Park Service and its neighbors, schools, and local law enforcement agencies through communitybased programs such as StayinSchool, DARE, educational outreach programs, and community service.
Sumner Elementary School The school district has approached the National Park Service to determine its interest in the future of the Sumner School building. Sumner, combined with Monroe, are a single national historic landmark and as such Sumner is an integral part of the story. It meets the criteria for being in the national park system. However, the National Park Service believes that it does not need to own Sumner School to adequately interpret its role in this story. The National Park Service will look favorably upon a cooperative arrangement with the school district, the city, and other potential users to lease a portion of the building for administrative and programmatic purposes. If Sumner School becomes threatened, the National Park Service will seek other alternatives for management and protection. These alternatives may include a study to determine under what circumstances a boundary adjustment will be necessary. Recommendations in the study may include seeking a boundary adjustment to include Sumner School in the NPS boundary.
Boundary Adjustments Although no boundary adjustment is called for, two possibilities for the necessity of a boundary adjustment may arise. As mentioned above, seeking a boundary adjustment (among other alternatives) will be considered for Sumner School if it became threatened. Also, if it proves impossible to lease a citybuilt parking area just north of Monroe School, a boundary adjustment will be considered, along with other options.
Cooperative Agreements Cooperative agreements will need to be negotiated with owners of certain related sites in Topeka (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service regarding access to the district court courtroom) as well as agencies and organizations outside of Topeka who manage sites and resources related to the civil rights story.
Accessibility The building, programs, and media will be accessible.
Hazardous Materials Hazardous materials exist in Monroe School, but not at levels that will pose a public health threat. Limited or total abatement may be implemented, depending on specific recommendations found in the historic structure report. (Also see discussion of hazardous materials in the "Affected Environment" section.)
OVERVIEW OF INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR USE Monroe School will comprise the physical resource and will be the primary site for most visitor experiences and interpretation. The story of Brown v. Board of Education
will be told through interpretive media and programs, which will be developed in phases. In most national park system areas, the visitor center introduces visitors to the stories and resources and encourages them to see and experience the resources. At this site, because the Monroe School constitutes most of the physical resource and is where most of the story will be told, greater emphasis than usual will be placed on interpretive media and programs. Visitors should have access to various related stories, experiences, and depth of treatment that they choose. A primary objective of NPS interpretation is to facilitate interaction between visitors and resources; at Brown v. Board National Historic Site, the story is the essential resource. Discussing controversial ideas and recounting events will not be avoided simply to avoid controversy. The overall approach will be to present historical information in a manner that will effectively interpret stories and topics that are sensitive, emotional, and often as controversial as segregation, the civil rights movement, and the experience of many African Americans in the United States. It is important to include the latest scholarship available in these fields of study, in addition to perspectives and information that may differ from traditional sources of research and methods of interpretation. Where historians and others differ on the description and interpretation of past events, visitors will have access to the differing perspectives. The following actions are described in two sequential phases. The exact availability of funding and partnerships cannot be forecast with certainty; actions described in phase II may occur earlier due to unanticipated exigencies and opportunities. PHASE I Overview Overall, the initial goals of phase I will be to preserve the school building and other resources associated with the site story (including oral histories), open the school for visitors, provide for visitor safety, and interpret the basic story to the public and organized groups such as schools.
Visitors will come to the site and learn basic information about the story of Brown v. Board of Education. This phase will provide minimal interpretation through siteproduced and commercially available interpretive media. A small interpretive staff will be available for programs and other visitor services, including offsite programs. There may be little interpretation of related sites and stories outside the Topeka area and limited publicity about the site's existence. The anticipated average length of stay for visitors at the site will be less than one hour.
The following description of actions to be taken at the site in phase I will be undertaken only in concert with the historic structure report and the cultural landscape report.
Interpretation and Visitor Use The first phase will implement initial actions needed to provide essential visitor services, tell the basic interpretive story, and provide opportunities for beneficial visitor experiences. Media such as exhibits, audiovisual programs, wayside (outdoor) exhibits, and publications will be important methods for communicating the site story. These media will provide interpretation efficiently when visitation is sporadic or at low levels. Exhibits and wayside exhibits will be designed and produced mostly by the site staff or by local contractors; further assistance will be obtained from other NPS experts and from partners. Audiovisual programs and publications will include existing commercially produced products as well as programs produced through partnerships. An interim facility treatment and media plan will be needed. Interpretive programs will include onsite and offsite programs such as interpretive talks and heritage education programs, both to the public and to groups such as schools. Trained volunteers will augment the NPS staff. The following description of room uses at Monroe School is based on interim needs for visitor use and interpretation. Entrance. Visitors will enter the front door of the school (see Phase I Potential Floor Plan). There they will be greeted by a ranger or a volunteer and be oriented to the building and the site story. Gymnasium/Auditorium. This room will be used for interpretive talks, exhibits, meetings, receptions, and audiovisual programs. The center of the room will be left mostly open to permit activities with large groups. Most wall, ceiling, and floor treatments will be left in their current state. Theater. Until a formal theater can be developed, audiovisual programs will be shown on video monitors or projection screens in any of several firstfloor rooms. Commercially produced programs and news documentaries relating to the site story will be shown, as well as slide and video programs produced through partnerships. Exhibits. Exhibit modules incorporating primarily photographs and text will interpret all themes and describe site significance. They may be installed in the gymnasium/auditorium or in one or more of several classrooms on the first floor. A time line of important events may be part of the exhibits. Most wall, floor, and ceiling treatments of exhibit rooms will be left as they are, with necessary stabilization and cleaning. Bookstore. This area will provide supplementary interpretive materials for sale. Materials will include publications, postcards, posters, videotapes, CDROM programs, educational curricula, and themerelated souvenirs. The bookstore will be operated by a cooperating association. Site publications may include siteproduced bulletins on themerelated topics. Hallway, Offices, and Restrooms. Areas for circulation, offices, and visitor information will be designated by site staff as needed. Hallways will generally be kept open. One or more rooms on either side of the entrance hall may be used for offices; other areas may be used as well. An accessible area for information, probably near the entrance hall, will be designated. Orientation materials will be available at or near the information area. Restrooms will be on the first floor. Personal Services. Informal contacts and formal programs will be conducted in the school when basic cleanup and safety efforts were completed. The site staff will work with appropriate agencies to publicize the opening of the site. Offsite programs will be a high priority; groups will include schools, clubs, scouts, and other organizations. Formal onsite heritage education programs and interpretive talks will also be a high priority. Several classrooms may be used for group programs. Second Floor. Steps will be taken to upgrade portions of the school building's second floor to accommodate minimal administrative offices for site staff and cooperating association offices. Storage. Many areas will be available for storage on both floors.
Future Studies, Plans, and Cooperative Agreements Several plans and studies will be needed in phase I. Among these are (1) an interim facility treatment and media concept design, which will set the overall design parameters for phase I developments; (2) a comprehensive facility treatment and interpretive media design, which will describe in detail the facility treatments and media that will be produced for phase II and which will be needed before phase II can be implemented (this design plan will be based on this General Management Plan and the longrange interpretation and visitor experience plan); (3) a historic structure report, which will document the building's architectural history and guide the final architectural treatment of Monroe School; (4) a cultural landscape report, which will guide the final treatment of the school grounds; (5) a historic resource study, which will provide additional historical documentation relative to the site's story and resources; and (6) a scope of collections statement, which will guide the site's collection policy. The historic structure report and historic resource study are underway and should be completed sometime in FY 96 or FY 97.
Staffing In phase I, the need for staffing will be in the areas of administration and interpretation. The site manager is responsible for determining the staffing levels necessary for meeting site goals. The intent is to provide the best visitor services within budgetary constraints. Within the initial phase of development, a small number of staff may be adequate for meeting the minimum requirements for visitor services and public health and safety.
Phase II Overview Overall, phase II goals will be to continue meeting phase I goals, to enable diverse visitors (children, the elderly, etc.) to understand and appreciate the comprehensive story of Brown v. Board of Education, to enhance resource protection through public awareness and commitment, and to provide a variety of quality visitor experiences. Visitors to the site can spend several hours enjoying the various opportunities. Sharply increasing visitation is expected due to increased activities, publicity, and interpretive media. Visitors will find a variety of interpretive services, designed to effectively serve visitors of different learning styles, ages, backgrounds, and preconceptions. As in phase I, visitor experience will focus on the central stories rather than the physical resources such as the school or artifacts. Considerable effort and staff will be required to convey often complex and abstract stories in ways that are interesting and accessible. All five cases, as well as the national and international perspectives, will be explained. Extensive use will be made of audiovisual media and interactive displays, along with the development of video conferencing and a computer resource center with links to universities, other NPS sites, and museums for remote programming, conferences, and research. Educational programs for schools and other groups will be a high priority. Cooperative agreements will be developed with the managers of associated sites in Topeka to set the context for the Topeka part of the story. A major effort will be made to inform the public about other sites that relate to civil and human rights (see appendix D for examples). An interpretive concept plan, as recommended in NPS6 Interpretation Guidelines, will be prepared to determine the best way to develop the network. The following description of actions to be taken at the site under this phase will be undertaken only in concert with the historic structure report and the cultural landscape report.
Interpretation and Visitor Use The following description of room uses at Monroe School is based on looking at what areas and functions are needed for visitor use and interpretation. To the best of the National Park Service's knowledge at this time, these uses are feasible. If, in future design phases, issues with building codes or design standards develop or if new design solutions that more effectively respond to the goals and criteria in this document were proposed, room uses or functions may change. The criteria set forth in this document will still be applicable. Entrance. The school's front door will remain as the primary entrance. Visitors will be greeted and briefly oriented inside the front door. Most will then move straight ahead into the gymnasium/ auditorium, where exhibits will provide an introduction and overview experience (see Phase II Potential Floor Plan, First and Second Floors).
Gymnasium/Auditorium. This largely open room will generally be restored to its appearance in the early 1950s where that is reasonable and functional with its new uses, which will require flexibility. An overview of the interpretive story in the gymnasium/auditorium will be provided by exhibits with audiovisual media that will be arranged primarily around the perimeter of the room. The center, the stage, and the area in front of the stage will be left open. Some exhibit modules may be arranged around the center of the room, but they will be movable to retain flexibility of use. An important function in the gymnasium/auditorium will be the welcome, orientation, and area/activity assignments of scheduled groups. Up to two busloads (90 people) can be accom¬modated at one time. After an introduction, small groups can be formed to go to their first activity areas. Other functions will be hosting meetings, receptions, and public programs.
Theater. A formal theater should be immediately adjacent to the gymnasium/ auditorium and will feature a video program that will supplement and reinforce the introductory exhibits. For most visitors, this will be the first area visited after the gymnasium/auditorium. Secondary functions for this room will be to show other audiovisual programs and present interpretive talks, education programs, and meetings. This room should have good acoustics, fixed seating, a projection room, a slightly raised stage, and spot and floodlighting of the stage area for all of the functions. (A sloping floor is desirable; further analysis will be required to determine if that is feasible.) Video Conferencing. Video conferencing with other sites, programs, and individuals will be available to the public and to scheduled groups. For example, through these facilities visitors (including school groups) will be able to hear a live program from the steps of the Supreme Court; participate in a discussion or debate with groups from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, The Carter Center, or other locations; see actual places where momentous events took place; watch a debate on CSpan or other educational channel; or converse with scholars and others at sites throughout the world. When live programs are not available, taped programs can be played. Video Room. A separate video room will be needed to show the many films, videotapes, oral histories, and news programs that relate to the site and story. This spat,' can be simpler than the theater, with seating for perhaps 3050 (one class plus teachers and chaperons) and a small projection room. The introductory program may be shown in the video room if site staff chose to present another program in the theater. This room will require moderate sound baffling so programs will not interfere with nearby activities; good acoustics will be needed as well.
Exhibits. One or more classrooms on the first floor will house permanent exhibits and temporary exhibits that maybe acquired on loan or locally produced. Wall, ceiling, and floor treatments will represent the school's early 1950's appearance. Original walls may be kept, restored, or removed as needed for circulation, noise abatement, and separation of themes. The effects of modifying the landmark character of the building will be considered before decisions are made regarding the removal of walls. It will be desirable for exhibit room walls to provide flexibility for hanging exhibits and graphic materials (for example, sheetrock or other wall covering over ¾inch plywood). The exhibit design plans will be reviewed in accordance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
Bookstore. This area will be developed in phase I; enhancements to serve increased visitation and interpretation will proceed throughout phase II as well. An office and a lockable storage area should be contiguous to the sales area; additional bookstore storage may be needed elsewhere as well. There will be an area in the bookstore where visitors can sit and browse through publications, talk with members of their group, or just rest and reflect on their experiences. Hallway. The hallway will be kept open to allow for circulation. Large graphics can be hung on the walls; wall treatments will otherwise resemble the 1950's school appearance. Some building and area orientation can also be provided. Temporary exhibits that maybe acquired on loan or locally produced can also be displayed in the hallway. FirstFloor Offices. One or both rooms on either side of the entrance hall may be used for offices. One office should be close to where visitors are greeted so an interpreter can work during slow periods yet still be able to greet entering visitors. Information Area. There should be one easily accessible area where visitors can find an interpreter for information or assistance. This may be in one of the offices along the entrance hallway or in an area in the gymnasium/auditorium. The former location will be more practical during times of limited staff; the latter will be more accessible to visitors in various parts of the building. It may or may not be located in the same area as in phase I. A formal information counter may not be required; however, one may be desirable if the information area is in a large space like the gymnasium/auditorium. If a counter is used, it should be small, simple, and convenient for storing brochures, maps, and other visitor assistance items. To help the interpreter using maps and other media for orienting visitors to the school and other areas, the information area should be contiguous to the main orientation area. A variety of materials and methods (maps, wall graphics, brochures, computers, and personal contacts) will let visitors know what resources and services are available in Topeka and what other area sites relate to the themes of civil and human rights. Related sites around the country will be described here as well.
Restrooms. Men's and women's restrooms will be on the first floor; exact locations have yet to be determined. There will also be two unisex restrooms on the second floor one for staff and one for the public.
Second Floor. The second floor will be accessible to visitors and staff by a new elevator. However, this floor will not be part of most visitors' itinerary. Functions on the second floor will include NPS administrative offices (including a small break.room/lunchroom), a cooperating association office, two heritage education classrooms (that may also serve as meeting rooms or video conference facilities for scheduled groups), storage, a reference library/ media center, and restrooms. No further office space will be provided for either the National Park Service or the cooperating association. If additional office space is needed by any of these entities, or if space is needed for visitor use, another location will have to be secured. The reference library / media center will be available to visitors, area residents, scholars, and students on a scheduled basis or by permission of the staff. It will contain a range of services, including themerelated publications, audiovisual products, refer ence services, computers, and access to information networks and other collections. Items and information preserved and accessible at neighboring institutions (such as Kansas State University, the University of Kansas and others) will not be duplicated in the site library unless the material is basic and essential to the understanding of the site story The heritage education classrooms will each accommodate up to 45 people (one class plus teachers and chaperons). Flexible fixtures will allow a variety of activities including audiovisual presentations, video conferencing, talks, small and large group activities, and group presentations. Storage for educational materials will be contiguous to each classroom. The possibility of joining two classrooms with a removable partition should be explored. This will allow two classes to engage in a video conference or other activity at the same time. A drawback will be decreased sound baffling between the two rooms.
Storage. There should be several areas dedicated for storage on the first and second floors. Items will include interpretive and educational program supplies, administrative supplies, audiovisual materials, equipment, and janitorial supplies. The site staff should be consulted on the types and amounts of materials when building rehabilitation begins.
Future Studies, Plans, and Cooperative Agreements The same plans and studies that will be needed to implement phase I will also be undertaken before phase II can be implemented. The comprehensive facility treatment and media design plan prepared in phase I will be implemented in phase II.
Staffing In phase II the needs for staffing will focus in the areas of interpretation plus resource management and maintenance. The site manager is responsible for determining the staffing levels necessary for meeting site goals.
COST ESTIMATES AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY Costs to implement the plan will be as in the following table. Building rehabilitation is intended to be completed by FY 98. Following is a summary of the steps needed to implement the plan. The actual schedule will depend on funding and priorities.
Affected Environment LOCATION AND ACCESS Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site is in Topeka, Kansas (Shawnee County), in the northeastern part of the state (see Region map, page 2). Topeka, the state capital, is on Interstate 70 and is 60 miles west of Kansas City, Missouri, and 540 miles east of Denver, Colorado. Wichita, Kansas, is 135 miles southwest along Interstate 35 (Kansas turnpike), and Omaha, Nebraska, is 160 miles north along U.S. Highway 75. The national historic site (Monroe School) is just south of the central business district.
NATURAL RESOURCES The basic topography, geology, and soils of the area are a result of glaciation. The area is flat to gently rolling with a mostly alluvium substrate. Although 62% of Shawnee County is classified as prime farmland by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service), the historic site is in an urbanized land zone. Wildlife species found near the historic site include small mammals, nonnative birds, and numerous native songbirds. The vegetation is typical of a disturbed Midwestern prairie turned urban area with numerous introduced tree and shrub species. There are six federal and five statelisted threatened or endangered animal species in the county, but none are found in or near the urban environment of the historic site. There are no known threatened or endangered plant species at the site. The major water feature in the area is the Kansas River and its tributaries, which are prone to flooding. However, the Kansas River levee system protects most of Topeka, including the historic site. The 100year floodplain for Shunganunga Creek, a major tributary of the Kansas River, is just south of the historic site. The site is not in the floodplain, and there are no wetlands associated with the site. The historic site is in a federal class II clean air area as designated under the Clean Air Act. The primary factor affecting air quality in the area is vehicle exhaust. Although the historic site is in an urban environment, noise pollution is not a major problem. The site is several blocks from major streets and highways in a mixed residential and light industry / commercial area.
SITE CULTURAL RESOURCES MONROE SCHOOL The Monroe School building and grounds (about 1.85 acres) is the entire historic site. It is owned by the National Park Service. Designed by architect Thomas Williamson, the building is a Spartan but handsome twostory Italian Renaissance style elementary school. The building has an imposing, formal, highstyle symmetrical facade with a projecting small central bay, masonry veneering, an entry accentuated by small classical pilasters, and an arched doorway. The interior is simple in design. There is a lowpitched hipped roof with wide, overhanging eaves. The major interior characterdefining features include the following: a gymnasium/auditorium The heart of the building, the gymnasium/ auditorium is directly across from the main entrance. It is two stories high with a balcony that is accessible from the second floor. There is a large stage, tiled multipurpose floor, and large windows in the exterior wall. An entry area The stylized "gatehouse" entry is relatively highly ornamented. It is flanked by the administrative offices of the school. classrooms These 13 rooms are where the business of the school took place. Of note are the many builtin features, such as supply cabinets, book shelves, display cases, and coat rooms. the kindergarten This special room is subtly isolated from the rest of the school and uniquely connected to the outside. It has many special features, most notably a hearth. the corridors The corridors establish the linear organization of the building and the rhythm of the classrooms. There are open stairwells at either end to connect the floors. The building is in excellent structural condition and weathertight except for the inherent design weaknesses of a flat roof over the gymnasium/auditorium and steel basement windows. The mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems were of good quality but were not designed for the mixed uses proposed. Several interior renovations, including the removal of walls, have occurred since Monroe was an active school, but most of the materials were salvaged and the original locations are obvious. In the terminology of the National Register of Historic Places, the integrity of the school property is high. Monroe School has a quality, simplicity, and clarity of design that forms a useful and approachable backdrop to support interpretation to the public. Monroe School has a small parking area at the back of the building. There are no other nearby places to park except on the street. Three vacant parcels of land adjacent to the school could accommodate parking for the historic site. The land directly east of the school, which is also owned by the National Park Service, is part of the school grounds and historic site and the historic scene. The parcel east of that parcel is used for overflow parking by a nearby business. The land directly north of the school is vacant and owned by a nearby business. The largest threat to the preservation of the school remains the attractive nuisance created by the vacated and thus unprotected appearance. Also of major concern is the potential for the complete loss of the context of the property through neglect and the loss of the original context of the surrounding neighborhood. Although there is unanimous agreement that the site should be the anchor of revitalization for the immediate area, there is disparity in the opinions as to the highest and best use for the property surrounding the school. The neighborhood continues to be seen as leftover space created in an awkward spot between two street grid orientations and a low wet area. Although it is close to downtown and two nearby streets serve as a commuter corridor, it is not a particularly desirable location for either commercial or residential occupancy. The greatest challenge for the National Park Service is to retain the urban context around the site. For more description of Monroe School, see the previous "Site Resources" section in the "Introduction."
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS As required before the National Park Service acquires property, a level I hazardous materials inventory was conducted by the NFS regional office safety manger for Monroe School on March 10, 1993. Subsequent tests were recommended to verify the presence of asbestos, lead, and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), and a firm was retained to conduct the tests and research. Their report concludes that an asbestos abatement project in 1988 to remove asbestos from pipes was successful, and that no significant amount of fibers are present. However, there is asbestos in the floor tiles in the gymnasium. Small amounts of lead were found in paint and varnish from isolated locations around the gymnasium. Light ballasts were checked for PCBs and leakage, and minor leaks as well as suspect ballasts were found. A separate test found that there are no significant petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants on the school grounds from the working gas station that was across 15th Street from the school. Hazardous materials do exist, but not at levels that would pose a public health threat. Abatement should be implemented, depending on the recommendations in the historic structure report, before allowing public access to the school.
RELATED RESOURCES IN TOPEKA
Sumner School Sumner Elementary School was commissioned by the School Board of Topeka in 1935 and was constructed by the Public Works Administration (along with work on East Topeka Junior High and Grant School). Part of a designated national historic landmark (with Monroe School), the school stands on 3.6 acres, has a total of 31,306 square feet with 17 rooms (10 classrooms), and has a capacity for 240 students and 30 staff members. The exterior has decorative stone basreliefs in the art deco style. The architect was Thomas W. Williamson of Topeka. The current Sumner School is the fourth one built. (The original onestory brick building burned down in 1888.) Originally Sumner was a school for African American children until 1885 when another school was used for African American children and Sumner was turned over to the white children. Built in 1935, the current Sumner School was designed as a twostory brick structure with 13 rooms, a tower, a basement, and a gymnasium/auditorium. Despite the unusual auditorium design, and Lsha pe of the school, the floor plan is functionally identical to the floor plan of Monroe School. In fact, once past the period decorative styles unique to each decade and the extra ornament afforded Sumner School by the WPA work, the similarities between the two schools are quite striking; the topology, technology, materials, and room placements are consistent. The school is still in use. In the years since its construction, the school has undergone several renovations. For example, in the 1930s vocational training and cooking were taught in the elementary school; as the curriculum changed, these rooms were converted to a media center and teacher's lounge. In other remodelings, the gymnasium/auditorium became a multipurpose room, the tower was renovated to contain a special reading classroom, and the basement was remodeled to contain a playroom and two additional classrooms. The specific dates of these renovations are unknown, although it is believed that the vocational training and cooking rooms were changed during the early 1950s and the tower, gymnasium/ auditorium, and basement were changed some years later. Because Sumner Elementary School is still in use, the school district has continued to update and repair the building as needed. These renovations are necessary modifications for meeting the continuing needs of the students at the school and do not affect the integrity of the property as a functioning elementary school. Sumner Elementary School is essentially the same today as it was in the early 1950s. Sumner will be closed at the end of the 19951996 school year and will be retained "until private or public efforts can historically develop the site in a manner complementary to the Monroe Site" according to the advisory committee to Unified School District 501 for the disposition of closed school buildings.
Other Related Schools At the time of its construction, Monroe School was one of four elementary schools in Topeka serving the black community. The other elementary schools for black children were the Washington School, which no longer survives, the Romanesque McKinley School, and the "eightroom style" Buchanan School. McKinley and Buchanan Schools survive, but they are no longer owned by the Topeka Board of Education. McKinley School is used as a storage building, and Buchanan School was remodeled for use as an office building.
Post Office (Old Courthouse) This building was the federal courthouse until 1978. The legal drama of the Topeka case unfolded in the courtroom on the third floor. Except for temporary partitions in one corner to create a storage area and the removal of the furniture, the room looks much as it did during the time of the trial.
Washburn University Local attorneys on both sides of the Topeka court case Charles Scott, Charles Bledsoe, John Scott, Elisha Scott, and Paul Wilson graduated from Washburn University School of Law.
Kansas State Capitol It was here in the chambers of the Kansas Supreme Court that the legal challenges before the Brown case were heard. Beginning with the Tinnon case in 1881 and ending with the Webb case in 1949, eleven such school integration cases were decided here. The Kansas Attorney General's office, which argued the Brown case for the state, is in this building. The Kansas state capitol is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
SOCIOECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT Topeka, the capital of Kansas, is a city of about 120,000, which is about 75% of the population of Shawnee County (down from 85% in 1960). Topeka had its highest growth rate during the 1950s. The most probable growth projection for 1990 to 2010 is an average annual growth rate of 0.7% per year, compared to an actual rate of 1.57% per year for 1950 to 1980 and 0.5% per year for 1960 to 1980. The percentage of total population for minorities has slowly increased and is now about 14%. The state government is the largest category of employment, followed closely by services and trade. The rest of Shawnee County has primarily an agriculturally based economy. The median household income of census tracts closest to downtown Topeka and the historic site is much less than that of the entire city. Existing land uses in Topeka are typical of most urban areas. The land uses around the historic site are a mix of residential, which contributes to the neighborhood school character of Monroe School, and light industry/commercial uses. The site is at the junction of two differently oriented street patterns and near the floodplain of Shunganunga Creek. The potential for dramatic changes in land use would seem minimal. The city of Topeka has long been interested in redeveloping the nearby downtown area and is currently considering a plan by a developer. The project area would be anchored by the central business district on the north and Monroe School on the south. The plan proposes changing some street patterns, improving retail opportunities, and constructing a new downtown apartment complex. Another land use change is the construction of a magnet school one block north of Monroe School. Because of the capitol, other government buildings, and an active central business district, traffic in and out of downtown Topeka can be heavy. Of the top 100 intersections in Topeka by traffic volume, nine are within 10 to 12 blocks of the historic site. They are primarily associated with Kansas and Topeka Avenues and major eastwest cross streets. (The accident rate at three of these intersections is relatively high.) The city of Topeka and Shawnee County have a rather large parks and recreation system. Topeka has 1 regional, 8 community, 27 neighborhood, 19 mini, and numerous linear, special use, open space, and undeveloped parks (89 areas with a total of 1,500 acres). Cushinberry Park, a 4.8acre neighborhood park serving the recreational needs for the immediate area, is the closest to the historic site. It has a children's playground area, basketball/ tennis courts, a multipurpose paved area, picnic area, and an outdoor theater (one of three in the city). The city is planning to improve this park.
REGIONAL RESOURCES Many sites in Topeka are of interest to tourists and schoolchildren, including the Kansas Museum of History, the Combat Air Museum, the National Guard Museum, the Topeka Zoo, and the Heartland Park Raceway. Topeka, the state capital, has many facilities to accommodate tourists, including hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. No additional touristrelated facilities would be needed to accommodate visitors to Brown v. Board National Historic Site.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND A more detailed history of the events leading up to the Brown case is in appendix B.
COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS, EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND REGULATIONS This section discusses the laws, regulations, and policies to be considered in preparing an environmental document, implementing the proposed plan, and assessing the anticipated impacts on the human environment. Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 USC 1521 et seq.) Not applicable; no species or habitat are in the project area. Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, as amended (16 USC 1271 et seq.) Not applicable; no wild or scenic rivers are in the area. Executive Order 11988 "Floodplain Management" (3 CFR 121, Supp. 177) Not applicable; the historic site is protected from Kansas River by Topeka levee system and is out of the 100year floodplain of Shunganunga Creek. Executive Order 11990 "Protection of Wetlands" (3 CFR 121, Supp. 177) Not applicable; no wetlands are in the area. Section 404_(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1973, as amended (33 USC 1344) Not applicable; no construction is proposed. Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as amended (33 USC 403) Not applicable; no rivers or harbors are in the area. Farmland Protection Policy Act, (7 USC 4204[b]) Not applicable; the historic site is in an urbanized land zone. The Storm Water Rule (Clean Water Act, PL 95217; sec. 402) Not applicable; no construction is proposed. Section 118 of the Clean Air Act, as amended (42 USC 7401 et seq.) Not applicable; no proposal would result in a measurable change from existing conditions. National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 USC 470 et seq.), 36 CFR part 800 as amended, and Executive Order 11593 Monroe School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Section 106 of the law requires federal agencies to assess the effects of any proposed undertaking and, if necessary, mitigate adverse effects. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the state historic preservation officer have been involved in this project from the start. Compliance with section 106 would be completed before implementing any actions that would affect the Monroe School and property. See table 4 for a list of cultural resource requirements. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (PL 101601) This law requires the National Park Service to consult with Native American groups associated with the project area to determine possible effects on sacred or significant sites. That consultation is ongoing. Section 3 of the law stipulates procedures for handling discoveries made during grounddisturbing activities. No major grounddisturbing activities are proposed in this plan. The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (42 USC 4151 et seq.) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 USC 701 et seq.) These laws require all developed facilities and programs to be accessible to visitors with disabilities.
CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONS CONTACTED In April 1993 an initial scoping meeting was held in Topeka with representatives of the National Park Service, the state of Kansas, the city of Topeka, the Brown Foundation, and staff of the Kansas Delegation to identify and discuss issues related to this planning effort. In October 1993 a workshop was conducted in Topeka with representatives of the National Park Service, state, county, city, and other partners to further discuss the future of the historic site and begin to address many of the planning issues. In fall 1993 the first planning newsletter was distributed to over 3,000 recipients. That newsletter announced the establishment of the historic site and the beginning of the planning process and solicited responses and concerns from recipients on their vision for the historic site. In December 1993, ten individuals associated with the Brown v. Board of Education case and with subsequent modern civil rights movement met in Topeka for two days to share their experiences with NPS planners. The purpose of this workshop was to focus on the interpretive story to be told at the historic site and begin to identify important interpretive themes related to that story. In January 1994 an alternatives workshop was held in Topeka, again with representatives of the National Park Service, city, county, and state, as well as other interested individuals and organizations, to begin to develop the concepts presented in the draft plan. In March 1994 the second planning newsletter was published and distributed. That newsletter focused on such topics as the future of the historic site, its purpose and significance, and the results of the interpretive planning workshop. Again, comments and input were solicited from the newsletter recipients. In May 1994 the public was invited to meet with NPS planners and discuss the alternative concepts that were being proposed for the plan at open houses that were held at the Topeka YWCA. In October 1994 a team assembled in Topeka to review interpretive themes and visitor experience goals and recommend ways to interpret the themes and achieve the goals. The draft plan was published and distributed in early May, and public meetings on the draft plan were held on May 19 and 20, 1996. Those who attended the meetings and those who submitted written comments strongly supported the plan. The comment period on the draft plan closed June 14, 1996.
INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN OVERVIEW This plan, along with the approved general management plan, describes the details of the proposal for interpretation and visitor experience. Together, they are a longrange interpretive plan that identifies significant visitor experiences associated with the site and recommends ways to provide or encourage those experiences. Visitors will have access to a variety of perspectives of participants and scholars of the Brown decision and associated events. Both historical and contemporary events will be included. Visitors will have opportunities to explore the interpretive story to the depth and breadth that they choose: onsite media and activities will range from introductory and overview to indepth research and communication facilities; access to other related sites, information sources, people, and experiences will be provided and encouraged. National parks often commemorate places of conflict among dissimilar people and preserve places of historic and cultural significance to distinctive groups. One of the park's duties involves telling the park's story through the application of interpretive techniques. The overall approach to historical interpretation is simply repre¬ sentation and inclusion, which means using the latest and best scholarship and verbatim accounts of participants and observers. Controversy will not be avoided. Where historians and others differ on the description and interpretation of past events, visitors will have direct access to the differing perspectives. Documentation and sources will be available to visitors, which will allow them to put different perspectives into historical and contemporary contexts and enable them to make these experiences personally meaningful while maintaining historical integrity. Throughout the interpretive program, a major effort will be made to include examples and stories about people who worked against racism and bigotry, overcame personal prejudices, or who fought and sacrificed for the dignity and equality of all people. People relate to people, and the stories selected can be powerful influences to help heal wounds and move our country in a positive direction. This will be especially important for children. Much of the site story includes recent history that involved great differences of opinion, controversial events, and contrasting values. Truthfully interpreting this story will necessarily involve the representation of positions that may not be welcomed by some people today. Examples include disagreements among civil rights organizations, some stated positions of segregationists and integrationists, and general cultural descriptions of regions such as the South and of racially identified groups such as African Americans and European Americans. Again, the interpretive approach will be to tell the truth. Relevant descriptions and statistical distributions (such as cultural patterns, surveys, or demographics) will be accurately and appropriately expressed. Statements and events are part of the historical record, and those that may be controversial or uncomplimentary will nonetheless be included if they are necessary to provide a balanced and accurate interpretation of the story. Although controversy will not be avoided, the temptation to cast blame, make judgments, or express opinions will be avoided. Relevant judgment and opinions by participants may be reported and will generally include multiple perspectives, but designers and interpreters will avoid expressing opinions or making judgments. Rather, the National Park Service will present accurate history, and visitors will make their own judgments. Many visitors will be oriented to site resources and stories before they arrive in Topeka through mailings, telephone contacts, and publicity such as travel and feature articles and television programs. Major emphasis will be given to these activities.
AUDIENCE Two general types of audiences are anticipated: the public and organized groups. As is true for most national park system areas, there will be chiefly a regional audience, but a significant number of visitors will come from outside the region. Most will be drawn by the story. Some may be attracted because of the NPS arrowhead on the highway. Others will be attracted by publicity in travel magazines, newspapers, and organizational communications such as newsletters. Older visitors are more likely to identify with and to have been personally engaged in the civil rights movement. Regardless of the audience, the need to understand the past is universal; knowing our history can lead us not only to discern the past but the present as well, and this gives us a place of connectedness. This is an American story, as important as the Boston Tea Party or the Revolutionary War. It affects all citizens, and efforts should be made to reach out to all potential audiences. Probably most visitors will be favorably disposed toward achievements in civil rights. Strong interest from members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other civil rights groups, many involved in education, and many with strong church affiliations are expected. However, we should expect visits from visitors who are critical or skeptical of various civil rights laws or policies. Contemporary civil rights issues such as affirmative action are not as clearcut as were past questions of segregation, and perceptions of the results of integration are varied even among its proponents. Other audiences will include school groups, church and community groups, clubs and motor coach tours, and convention attendees. School groups will be especially important. Topeka already receives large numbers of school field trips, and coordination with other field trip sites will be important. Both public and group visitation will be coordinated with the Topeka Convention and Visitors Bureau. Facility design will need to accommodate the sudden influx of groups numbering up to 90 members (two classes or two busloads). The average visit may exceed one hour for the public and many groups, and about two hours is expected for schools. A high rate of return visitation is expected, so efforts should be made to provide new and changing experiences and exhibits.
INTERPRETNE THEMES AND STORIES The following interpretive themes are those ideas and concepts that are central to the site's purpose, identity, and visitor experience. Every visitor should have access to these themes, which provide the framework of the site's interpretive program, and the direction for planners and for designers of interpretive media such as exhibits, publications, and audiovisual and personal programs. Below each interpretive theme are several stories that give dimension, substance, meaning, and context. Stories will receive different emphases and treatments; other stories will likely emerge during subsequent media design and program planning. 1. The Verdict On May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the United StatesSupreme Court unanimously declared 'We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'Separate But Equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This was one of the most significant decisions ever made by the Supreme Court; it changed the lives of people around the world. This decision began the end of segregation in American public schools, segregation that had been legally established by the doctrine of "separate but equal" in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision and practiced throughout much of the United States, including Kansas. Racial segregation as an official policy at any level of American education was to have ended soon after the Brown II decision, which in May 1955 implemented the May 17, 1954 Brown I decision. The Brown I decision reaffirmed the original intent of the 14th amendment of the Constitution, which stated the following: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Stories (Theme 1)
• The basic story of the case and decision, and subsequent legal challenges, including all five cases Briggs v. Elliot (South Carolina), Brown v. Board of Education (Kansas), Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County (Virginia), Bolling v. Sharpe (District of Columbia), and Belton v. Gebhart and Bulah v. Gebhart (Delaware). • How the backgrounds, personalities, attitudes, and political and racial beliefs of the Supreme Court justices (especially Earl Warren, the new chief justice) affected how the justices deliberated and ruled in this case. • An overview of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, its strategy, and especially including those individuals chiefly involved in the cases leading up to Brown (e.g., Charles Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motely, Louis Redding, Spottswood Robinson, James Nabrit, William Hastie, Oliver Hill, Robert Carter, and Jack Greenberg). • The Plessy v. Ferguson case, including the story of Homer Plessy, and of John Harlan, the only dissenter in the Plessy case. Other cases leading up to Brown, including Roberts (1849), Dred Scott (1856), Murray (1936), Gaines (1938), Sweatt (1950), and McLaurin (1950). • The responses (whites and blacks, teachers, and others) to the decision. • The involvement of the Menninger Clinic; especially the testimony of Louisa Holt, whose language shaped much of the Brown decision. • The experiences of those who were galvanized by Brown to become involved in civil rights, law, education, and community work. • The stories of Paul Wilson, John Davis, and other defense attorneys in the five cases. 2. The Effects The 1955 Brown II decision, which directed states to implement the Brown decision "with all deliberate speed," was met with varying responses throughout the country; although progress has been made since then in many areas, racial inequality of educational opportunity continues today. Racial segregation as an official policy at any level of American education was to have ended soon after the Brown II decision, which in May 1955 implemented the May 17, 1954, Brown I decision. Segregation did not end with the Brown II decision. Many states and localities, especially in the South, either evaded or refused to comply with the Supreme Court edict. De facto segregation in education continues today in many areas, influenced by factors such as economics, settlement patterns, and racial prejudice. Current issues include corrective measures such as mandatory busing and magnet schools, neighborhood schools, the fairness of funding sources such as property taxes, the advisability of vouchers, and many issues relating to curricula. Racial discrimination, with all attendant issues, perspectives, and ramifications, also continues today.
Stories (Theme 2): • Reactions by public officials to the Brown decision; examples of delays and subversion of the intent of the decision by public officials, mostly in the South (e.g., some schools in Virginia closed rather than integrate). • Some results of the implementation of desegregation were, in the short term, negative. Integration sometimes negatively affected discipline in schools and lowered expectations of student performance. • Current educational issues including busing, bilingual education, magnet schools, prayer, vouchers, and de facto segregation. 3. Civil Rights Brown v. Board of Education illustrates the struggle of the American people to achieve basic guarantees of full civil rights for all citizens. The central question in Brown v. Board of Education concerned sharing the American dream of equal justice and opportunity for all and the belated recognition of the pluralistic character of American society. The struggle for equality in education is related to struggles for other basic civil rights and against social discrimination and prejudice. The Brown decision helped inspire civil rights movements around the world. The subsequent civil rights movement, from about 1954 to 1965, was initially characterized largely by nonviolent civil action, and by resistance, delaying actions, and sometimes violent responses by segregationists. The years that followed saw increasing civil unrest, militancy, and increased emphasis on issues such as job and housing discrimination, poverty, and crime. The Brown decision inspired the struggle for full citizenship in a time of social and moral turmoil. The struggle for equality in education is related to the question of constitutional rights against social discrimination and injustice. Where legal remedies were not available, legal redress was sought through protest marches, boycotts, and sitins.
Stories (Theme 3): • Brown v. Board set the stage for the later civil rights movement and other subsequent human rights efforts. • A general survey of the fight for civil rights in the United States, including slavery, Reconstruction, segregation, bus boycotts, sitins, marches, nonviolence, violence, black and white militancy, affirmative action, voting rights, marches on Montgomery, Alabama, and Washington, D.C. • The 1955 murder of Emmett Till • All forms of discrimination (e.g. disabilities, gender, age, sexual orientation, nationality, race, and religion) • A survey of civil rights organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Southern Christian Leadership Council, the Council on Racial Equality, the Antidefamation League, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panthers; and a survey of prosegregation organizations including the Ku Klux Klan and the White Citizen Councils • Elizabeth C. Stantion and others involved in women’s , who often began their activism working for racial equality (Frederick Douglass also worked for both race and gender equality). • Jim Crow the origin of the name; the origins of the practice. Jim Crow laws were another form of slavery that governed almost every aspect of life for blacks and became a powerful barrier. • Related sites (including Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site, Independence National Historical Park, National Civil Rights Museum, Montgomery Civil Rights Museum, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Booker T. Washington National Monument, Manzanar National Historic Site, Civil Rights Memorial, Mary McLeod Bethune National Historic Site, and The Carter Center). • The attempted lynching of James Cameron (and the lynching of two others) in Marion, Indiana, in the 1950s
The People The Supreme Court decision was a culmination of the actions and commitment of ordinary citizens as well as leaders and jurists. Brown was the 12th legal challenge to segregated schools across Kansas. The local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, with advice from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, developed a strategy to contest the segregation in Topeka schools; notable in this effort were chapter President McKinley Burnett, together with Charles Scott, John Scott, and Charles Bledsoe. Before a suit could be filed plaintiffs were needed. Although there were fears of retaliation by segregation supporters, organization members and friends were called on to join as plaintiffs. Among the plaintiffs were Lucinda Todd (the NAACP branch secretary and a former teacher under segregation), Oliver Brown, and 11 other plaintiffs participating on behalf of their children.
In the United States Supreme Court, the Kansas case was joined with similar cases from Delaware, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, and Virginia. These cases had been initiated by students and other private citizens; they were joined by the NAACP headquarters Legal Defense and Educational Fund and its lead council, Charles Hamilton Houston. Upon Houston's resignation in 1938 (due to declining health), the legal team was then headed by Attorney Thurgood Marshall, who was later appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Countless individuals and organizations joined an emergence of the unvoiced and launched a movement that generated social change that affected individuals throughout the world; it is an effort that continues today. Their stories are examples of citizens participating in democratic processes that lead to better opportunities for all. Stories (Theme 4): • Stories of Charles Houston, Thurgood Marshall, James Nabrit, McKinley Burnett, Charles Scott, John Scott, Charles Bledsoe, and others who were personally involved in efforts leading up to Brown v. Board of Education.
• Notable (and often less known) figures in the civil rights movement, including Rosa Parks, Medgar Evars, Bob Moses, Diane Nash, Joseph Rauh, Virginia Durr, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, Mose Wright, James Lawson, Glenn Smiley, James Meredith, Amelia Boynton, James Farmer, the Greensboro Four, the Little Rock Nine, Fannie Lou Hamer, Viola Liuzza, and others.
• W.E.B. Du Bois, Frederick Douglass, Robert Morris, Charles Sumner, Dred Scott, John Brown, and others who fought for racial equality.
• Stories of Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell.
• The story of lesserknown participants in a five cases, such as Reverend Joseph A. De Laine (South Carolina case).
• The story of Catherine Carper, the only student to testify at the Brown trial in Topeka
• The stories of Brown v. Board plaintiffs, especially those in other states, before and after the decision, including Sarah Bulah, Ethel Belton, and several other parents (Delaware); Henry Briggs and others (South Carolina); Oliver Brown and others (Kansas); Barbara Johns, Rev. Francis Griffin, and others (Virginia); and Gardner Bishop and others (District of Columbia).
• Ms. Carper, a Topeka plaintiff watching the school desegregation troubles in Little Rock (subsequent to Brown), worried that she had contributed to civil unrest, wondering "What have I done?"
• 15yearold Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, wasn't notified that the rest of the black students were entering the school at a different entrance in one group. Elizabeth faced a hostile mob of whites alone, with no protection from the police or the National Guard. She was turned away from the school. Although terrified and threatened by the mob, she maintained her composure and escaped with the help of a white woman named Grace Lorch.
5. The Context The Brown decision was also a product of social and legal history, of the evolution of public attitudes and beliefs, of 58 years of Courtsanctioned segregation and inequality in education, of the regional dynamics in Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, of national politics, and of global trends following World War II. Since the Colonial period, African Americans have sought access to education. One of the first legal challenges to segregated schooling was the 1849 Roberts case in Boston, Massachusetts. After the Civil War, African Americans continued to be confronted with no access to education, with limited access, with access only to poor education, or with access only to segregated facilities. After Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, segregated schooling was formalized by the doctrine of "separate but equal." For African Americans, separate usually meant inferior. Legal and social challenges to discriminatory laws and practices increased after World War I and gained momentum again after World War II. The cases involved in Brown v. Board of Education involved a variety of situations ranging from stark disparities in educational opportunities to roughly equal facilities, thus concentrating deliberations on the issues of separateness and equality, and the 14th amendment issue of equal protection under the law. Attitudes and beliefs about other peoples, races, religions, cultures, physical appearances, genders, and relationships have evolved considerably in the life of our nation. Public attitudes have always been diverse. The Brown decision, and events associated with it, have strongly affected the subsequent evolution of attitudes. The organized struggle for equal access to quality education spanned more than a century and has affected all communities . In addition to the legal perspectives, the Brown v. Board of Education case represented the efforts of citizens and leaders in Kansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, and Virginia to organize their communities and improve their lives. Many sites important to this story in Topeka remain today, including the Monroe and Sumner Schools and other formerly segregated schools, the surrounding neighborhoods, the courtroom in the Kansas Supreme Court, and the courtroom in the U.S. District Court. Stories (Theme 5): • American education, with specific emphases on segregation, integration, and African American education (especially changes, interest in, and values. • What were communities like before and after Brown? Are there different patterns of segregation/integration in different areas? • Specific examples of life in communities and neighborhoods, especially examples that relate to education and segregation. • The roles of religion and churches in civil rights. • The pros, cons, and effects of integration in black, white, and mixed communities. • Different perspectives among blacks and other minorities on the relative values of integrated or segregated (i.e., all black) schools. • Education during slavery (it was illegal to educate enslaved people of African descent), the antebellum conditions, and the importance and history of black education. • After World War II decolonization and the accelerated push for civil rights. • The roles of the Eisenhower administration in the Brown case and in civil rights.
3. The Constitution In Brown v. Board of Education the Supreme Court addressed issues relating to the exercise of the sovereign power of the people of the United States to protect their natural rights from arbitrary restrictions and limits imposed by state and local governments. The purpose of these restrictions was to maintain a system of racial segregation. These restrictions were found to be in direct violation of the 14th amendment to the Constitution and indirectly in violation of the doctrine of natural law and natural rights described by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence (and by John Locke in his Second Treatise). The achievement of civil rights for African Americans in the 20th century did not require a change in the Constitution so much as the fulfillment of the original intention of the framers of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution. The purpose of these amendments was to integrate African Americans into political and social life on the basis of legal equality. Reconstruction in the South fell short of this goal, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries patterns of discrimination were transformed in many areas intolegally sanctioned segregation and disenfranchisement. The issues involved in Brown v. Board of Education have been debated and disputed since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. Previous milestones in the struggles for natural rights of citizens include the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution.
Stories (Theme 6): • Thomas Jefferson a slaveholder having such vision about liberty and equality; the antecedents of his ideas in the works of natural law theorists and Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke; the contradictions between lofty ideals and political and social realities of the 18th century (e.g., allowance of slavery and restrictions of political rights for lower economic strata).
• The United States was founded on a contract (the Constitution) between people and government; people are ultimately sovereign. It is the people's responsibility to decide and renew our contract with government, to protect our rights, and obtain legal redress. • The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments (background, effects, events leading to, subsequent interpretations and applications). • The subsequent use of the 14th amendment to protect corporations and rich and privileged people. • A summary of discrimination cases leading up to and following Brown (e.g., the 1880 case Ex Parte Virginia that dealt with the right of blacks to sit on juries). • The Supreme Court, and the separation of powers (Marbury v. Madison). • The U.S. Constitution.
4. The Common Denominators The laws and policies that were struck down by the Supreme Court decision were products of the human tendencies to prejudge, discriminate, and stereotype other people by their racial, ethnic, religious, or other physical, behavioral, or cultural characteristics. These tendencies continue today and are among the root causes of ethnic conflicts around the world, ranging from prejudice to genocide. It is a rare person who has not displayed prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping at different times, to varying degrees; these are human shortcomings that are widely shared. They are sometimes illegal, always unfair, and often destructive; they can also be better understood, and reduced, corrected, or eliminated. The flame of equal rights, as exemplified by Brown, continues to burn brightly and to inspire new generations of people around the world.
Stories (Theme 7): Personal stories of discrimination, prejudice, and integration, including both positive and negative stories, especially examples of people overcoming personal prejudices and succeeding despite the roadblocks of racism. • Define terms such as racism, discrimination, prejudice, segregation, and bigotry. • Prejudice and discrimination are more in the forefront when a group is no longer useful (e.g., Chinese laborers) and when another group is economically threatened. • The role of education in providing an entry for many African Americans to acceptance into mainstream society as participants in the American dream. • There are many possible factors in differential achievement patterns; for example, loss of family structures; watch out for stereotypes in explaining different patterns of achievement. • The experiences of changing to an integrated school. • The realization of prejudice and resulting humiliation, alienation, and false senses of superiority and inferiority by minority children growing up. • The work of Dr. Kenneth Clark, a psychologist who studied the effects of segregation on children and whose studies were referenced in a controversial footnote of the Brown decision. • The general issues and background (science, sociology, psychology) of race, racial equality, and racial discrimination. • The evolution of the ideology of race. • Analysis of nowdiscredited theories of racial superiority of Caucasians, including Dr. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (who invented the name Caucasian in 1795 and established longheld racial classifications), William Graham Sumner, William McDougall, and Henry Fairfield Osborn. The counterattacks on these theories included works by Mark Twain, Franz Boas, E.B. Reuter, Melville J. Herskovits, Howard Odum (his later work), and Gunnar Myrdal.
5. Human Rights The decision in the Brown v. Boaro of Education case and other civil rights activities in the United States inspired and galvanized human rights struggles around the world. The fight for freedom, equality, dignity, and quality of life for disenfranchised people continues today in all countries.
Stories (Theme 8): • The impacts of the decision around the world and the effects on subsequent human rights movements. • Struggles for human rights around the world, especially contemporary examples (e.g., the Middle East, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Tibet, and women's rights). • Racial discrimination caused particular problems for our relationships with other countries when diplomats of color and their families were discriminated against, especially in and around Washington, D.C. and New York City (the headquarters of the United Nations). These problems helped motivate the U.S. government to file an amicus curiae brief in favor of the appellants in Brown.
INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN BALANCE BETWEEN FLEXIBLE AND SPECIFICUSE SPACES Flexibility will be an important characteristic in building and fixture design. The nature of both group and public visitation and of site operations requires this flexibility in design and use of spaces. All eventual needs cannot be accurately described at this point. A variety of programs and activities will occur in this building; a variety of audiences will be served; a variety of functions need to be accommodated. The building will be used for the foreseeable future, while interpretive media will be replaced every 2030 years or so. To accommodate future media approaches, spaces for exhibits should have the variety of power sources and wall treatments described in the description of the exhibit room in "The Plan" section. On the other hand, where functions are known or are anticipated, they will be better served by facility design and treatments specifically targeted to support those functions. For example, the process of seeing and hearing video presentations will be significantly enhanced by showing primary video programs in a space specifically designed to be a theater.
INTERPRETIVE SERVICES Interpretive services include media such as exhibits, audiovisual programs, computers, videoconferencing facilities, publications, and wayside exhibits; formal personal services such as talks, guided walks, and heritage education programs; and informal personal services such as information services, roving contacts, and telephone contacts. The overall mixture of interpretive media at this site will be designed to effectively tell the site story through various media and to various depths. These varied treatments should be designed to match the diversity of audience, backgrounds, interests, ages, expectations, learning styles, attitudes, knowledge, and opinions. To involve visitors in the site story, the initial experience should relate to criteria (e.g., equality, freedom, quality education for children) that are important to most visitors. It is important that visitors know their choices, have sufficient information to make them intelligently, and have a clear sense of what areas of the building are available to them. Interpretive themes and visitor experience goals set the directions and criteria for eventual media and program design. Media and program treatments described below are recommendations that represent a current consensus of the interpretive planning team. They will likely be modified and enhanced through subsequent stages of media and program design. The final media and program treatments will be designed to interpret the themes and meet the visitor experience goals described in the General Management Plan.
Exhibits Exhibits will be important elements in conveying the interpretive story. A variety of exhibit media will be used graphics, objects, text, audiovisual presentations, and interactive media such as computers and video links. An exhibit plan will be developed later; that plan will specify the precise media, approaches, and topics to be covered, along with text, objects, and graphics. Electrical service should be available in the floor, on the walls, and in the ceiling in rooms/areas with exhibits. Some criteria for exhibits are as follows: All interpretive themes may be addressed by the exhibits, although to different degrees, depending on what media do what parts best and how much emphasis other media place on each theme. Visitors may receive both overviews and more detailed treatments from exhibits. Indepth treatments will also be available in the library/media center, theater room, video room, and bookstore. Although a variety of exhibit media will be used, the character of the site story suggests liberal use of news media such as photographs, video clips, and newspaper headlines, and oral histories and other recordings. Some exhibits will be directed specifically toward children, and all exhibits will be accessible to general audiences. Multiple learning styles and senses will be engaged. Visitors should learn the multiple perspectives of historical events in ways that respect the accuracy of the historical record and include citation of sources and other evidence.
Possible exhibit elements include the following: Thematic Overviews In the gymnasium/auditorium, interpretive stories will be introduced, and compelling graphics and video clips may immediately establish emotional impact. Civil Rights Time Line(s) Using key dates, events, photographs, and graphics, the time line(s) may place key events in the struggles for civil rights in a temporal context with other national and international events. There may be more than one time line. Several locations are possible. Brown v. Board: the Cases Visitors will be able to understand the events, context, people involved, importance, and subsequent impacts of all five cases. The Segregated Life Most European Americans have never directly experienced segregation from the perspective of the discriminated class, and many African Americans are too young to have experienced official segregation. A cluster of exhibits may provide background and context for life in segregated societies. This may include perspectives from different parts of the country and the world for various racial and socioeconomic groups, and for several aspects of life including education, transportation, employment, social life, housing, etc. These may be balanced with stories of integrated communities. The Road From Brown These exhibits may sketch the notable events that followed the Brown v. Board decision. Included may be the continuing fight for school desegregation, Montgomery bus boycotts, the murders of Emmett Till and civil rights activists, sitins, marches, the evolution of nonviolence in the civil rights movement, civil disorders, black militancy, white backlash, the Voting Rights Act, the War on Poverty, the murders of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Bobby Kennedy, elections and appointments of African Americans, affirmative action, de facto segregation, vouchers, magnet schools, and mandatory school busing. Today's Issues These exhibits may give visitors the opportunity to consider different sides of current debates relating to equal opportunity in education and perhaps related areas of our national life. While national issues of education should probably be the focus, other aspects of life may be considered as well (e.g., employment, housing, and immigration) as can international human rights issues. Exhibits engaging visitors in a consideration of current issues may be closely tied with video conferencing and interactive computer activities. Documents Excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of
INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN Rights, and relevant Supreme Court decisions may be presented in various formats, including graphics and text, recordings, and interactive video. Some text should be large and prominent; some should be included in visitors' first experiences inside the school. Document excerpts establish the point that civil rights is a struggle for legal rights. Temporary and portable exhibits may be commissioned to be distributed to key sites throughout the city and country in advance of Monroe School's opening. After display on the suggested sites, these exhibits may then be reassembled as a revolving part of the NPS exhibits. These will provide interpretation in advance of full restoration and development of the school, and they will eventually provide interest and variety for returning visitors. Topics and initial locations for temporary and portable exhibits may include the following: • The role of local churches in the African American community, the civil rights movement, and specifically the Brown v. Board of Education case. Site: Topeka area churches. • The state's perspective on Brown v. Board of Education and an overview of legislation and legal history of educational segregation in Kansas, including a list of other states with laws that permitted segregated schools. Site: the state capitol. • Education and the U.S. Constitution how interpretations of the Constitution have changed, and how those changes are reflected in the legal framework for modern education. Site: Washburn University School of Law. • Cultural perspectives on education in Kansas the state's track record on providing educational opportunities for all its citizens. The emphasis here will be on how the state's educational efforts manifested themselves in the classroom. Site: Kansas State Historical Society Museum.
• Brown v. Board of Education through a child's eye views of the children directly affected by the Brown decision. This exhibit may include perspectives of children across the country, including the four black and four white elementary schools in Topeka. The exhibit will introduce the children and teenagers involved in the other four cases, especially Virginia (where students initiated the protest). A useful tool here may be to compare the views of children in Topeka with children, say, in Birmingham. Site: the public library. • The history and role of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the African American community, the civil rights movement, and the Brown decision. This exhibit will rotate to all sites.
Audiovisual Media Introductory Video. A 15 to 20minute introductory video program in either the theater or video room will convey necessary background for the specific stories that are interpreted in the building and elsewhere, tell the essential story of the Brown v. Board of Education case, trace the related events since the Brown decision, and reinforce several of the compelling stories that will engage visitors. Background elements may include the Constitution, slavery, abolition attempts, the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, Reconstruction, segregation, Plessy v. Ferguson, attempts for equal rights by and for African Americans, and the growth of civil rights organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Interpretive Services The story of the Brown v. Board of Education case will be told in greater detail. Visitors will be introduced to the importance of all five cases, the plaintiffs for all five cases, the essential issue of separateness leading to inequality, the other legal issues debated before the Supreme Court, delays in implementation, the roles of various judicial bodies and appeals, and the role of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (especially Charles Houston and Thurgood Marshall). The involvement of lesserknown but important people such as Lucinda Todd, McKinley Burnett, Dr. Kenneth Clark, and Reverend De Laine will also be introduced. Events and important people subsequent to Brown v. Board of Education may include key events of the civil rights movement, important court cases, statements by influential participants from all sides, and assessments of actual changes in education, attitudes, and related issues. The compelling stories will be those with emotional impact that are part of the background, the Brown v. Board of Education case, or the subsequent developments. Examples are described previously with the interpretive themes. This video will provide enough information so that an uninitiated viewer will get a fairly complete picture of the site story if s/he only watched this program; the video can stand alone. This video should also provide an introduction, overview, context, and emotional engagement for the likely majority of viewers who may then tour the rest of the school, stop at sites in Topeka, and visit sites that are farther away. Video Conferencing. Visitors will be able to hear a live program from the steps of the Supreme Court; participate in a discussion or debate with groups from the Civil Rights Institute, The Carter Center, or other locations; see actual places where momentous events took place; watch a debate on CSpan or other educational channel; or converse with scholars and others at sites throughout the world. When live programs were not available, taped programs may be played. Some exhibits and personal assistance will be necessary. A video camera with a monitor in an office will provide added security. Schools and other scheduled groups will use video conference equipment in the classrooms on the second floor. Special Audiovisual Subjects. Many additional opportunities exist to tell the interpretive story through audiovisual media. Visitors should have access to the stories, events, and depth of treatment that they choose. Care will have to be taken to minimize noise pollution; some ambient sounds may work well to create moods and a sense of being there, but too much sound overlap will be distracting for many visitors. Sound insulation and baffling, creation of separate spaces (for example, by keeping selected classroom walls or adding new partitions), and the use of directional speakers and headphones can minimize these problems. Interactive Oral History Videos. These videos will allow visitors to query individuals involved in the Brown v. Board of Education case or other events in the civil rights struggle and hear their personal memories, thoughts, and feelings. Visitors may select people and perspectives that interest them. These videos may be in one area or scattered in different areas. Special efforts should be made to obtain oral histories from principals in all five cases, especially those outside Topeka. Historical Recordings. A wealth of audiovisual materials are available, including news footage, recordings of speeches and rallies, and interviews. These may be available on a scheduled basis in the video room; some may be played elsewhere, such as in the gymnasium/auditorium or in the exhibit area, and they may be available on the first or second floor by request. Some of these may be played on a
INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN "video wall" to provide background, emotional impact, and scene setting. Recordings may similarly be available as background. Copies may be on sale in the bookstore. Commercially Available Programs. Many relevant video programs are available, including Eyes on the Prize, The Road to Brown, and programs from other sites (e.g., the Civil Rights Institute, Independence National Historical Park, and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site). Special Subjects. Specially produced video programs may concentrate on specific subjects of the interpretive story. These will be short, perhaps 310 minutes. They may be shown in the video room or the exhibit area. Possible subjects include the nature of prejudice and discrimination, international human rights issues, and specific case studies on school integration or other related subjects. If a program or series of programs lasts more that 23 minutes, seating should be available.
Reference Library/Media Center Visitors or students interested in more indepth or specific information or resources will have access to the reference library/ media center. Although archival and curatorial storage will be elsewhere (the University of Kansas, Kansas Collection), the library/media center will house printed and audiovisual materials that relate to site themes. The library will have connections (e.g., computer search, interlibrary loan, Internet, and Email) to other libraries, museums, and repositories. Access may be provided through reservation or by arrangement with site staff. The availability of these services will be part of the building orientation program. Personal oversight and assistance in this area will be required. This will not be a lending library.
Publications There are a wide variety of publications relating to the site story that are available through the private sector. These will be sold through the cooperating association. Although a fulllength handbook may not be needed, a concise but compelling summary of the Brown case and its effects on our society will be very useful. This may include graphics and be 3050 pages long. Additionally, the historic resource study could be published (by the cooperating association, for example) as a sales item. There is a need for a site folder, in the map and guide series, to provide basic information for information requests at welcome centers and as handouts at the site and at offsite programs. Until the Monroe School is fully developed, an interim site bulletin should be developed. A map and guide for sites in Topeka will also be needed to provide overall information relating the sites to the Brown story, pointing out other sites of interest (the capitol, universities, etc.) and providing directions and information such as hours of operation, fees, etc. This may be developed in partnership with the Brown Foundation and the Convention and Visitors Bureau. A variety of site bulletins may be developed by the site staff and partners to interpret such subjects as the architecture of Monroe School, other schools and sites in Topeka, additional depth on Brown and related civil rights cases, the history of Topeka (especially the Monroe neighborhood), and oral history accounts.
Wayside Exhibits Wayside exhibits, the most sitespecific of media, will play an important role in visitor experience by emphasizing to visitors that the site story goes beyond the school and the courtroom. Wayside exhibits will help to connect visitors to the community, the homes, churches, public buildings, and schools that collectively help tell this local story of people waging a peaceful uprising against unjust law. The list of possible wayside exhibit sites necessarily extends beyond the site's legislated boundary. The interpretation of many sites through wayside exhibits will require the cooperation of the city of Topeka, other federal agencies, and perhaps some private landowners. Wayside exhibits may include the following sites that reflect the most critical aspects of the Brown v. Board of Education story: • The Monroe School One exhibit will be near the parking area and will immediately identify the site's primary resource for visitors. This is critical because most visitors will likely have little concept of the nature of the site before they arrive. Another exhibit will provide basic information for visitors who arrive when the school is closed; this exhibit should incorporate a brochure rack. • The neighborhood surrounding the Monroe School This exhibit will characterize the neighborhood as it existed in 195154 and point out that conditions here were far removed from those typical of the deep South, that the neighborhood was largely integrated, and that the school that served the African American children of this area was indeed as equal as separate could be. · The Post Office (site of the Federal District Court) Here the initial federal trial unfolded. This exhibit will require careful siting and cooperation from both the city of Topeka and the U.S. Postal Service. • One of the churches that hosted NAACP meeting places (perhaps St. Mark's AME, St. John's AME, or the Shiloh Baptist Church) This exhibit will briefly indicate the role of historically African American churches in supporting the case and furthering the cause of civil rights. Any such exhibit will require the cooperation of the affected congregation and, likely, the city of Topeka. • Topeka Elementary Schools Exhibits at the other seven schools (such as McKinley and Buchanan), which were desegregated as a result of the Brown decision, will allow the National Park Service to interpret the efforts to fulfill the court order that resulted from the case. These exhibits will be accomplished through partnerships with the city of Topeka, the Board of Education, and other public and private sector entities. Emphasized in each wayside will be the student/plaintiffs who went to school there or applied to attend. • Washburn University School of Law - Here the primary local attorneys in the case received their training. Any onsite interpretation here will require the cooperation of the school. These wayside exhibits may be supported by a brochure that elaborates on the larger themes involved in the story and a map to allow access to sites. The exhibits may then concentrate on specific sites and stories.
Personal Services A variety of interpretive programs and personal services will be available for the public and for scheduled groups. These will include both formal programs (such as talks, heritage education programs, and offsite presentations), and informal interpretation (such as roving contacts, greeting visitors at the entrance, attending an information area, and assisting in the media center).
INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN Public Programs Formal onsite interpretive talks will be presented in the theater, video room, and elsewhere. Offsite programs will be presented on request throughout the Topeka area. Talks will be presented on site themes by NPS staff and volunteers. The National Park Service will cooperate with partners in providing training and quality assurance for presentations. Offsite public programs will be given, and interpretive displays will be assembled at public venues such as fairs and shopping malls. These are means of contacting people who are not part of traditional audiences. Informal public contacts will include greetings at the front door, information requests and other nonstructured conversations in the school, telephone inquiries, and roving contacts in the grounds around the school.
Heritage Education Programs (Onsite and Offsite) Services and facilities for scheduled groups will have equivalent emphasis with public interpretation. A variety of programs will be designed and presented for organized groups; all will be crafted to interpret primary themes and correspond with school curricula and group objectives. Groups will include schools, scouts, clubs, neighborhood and civic organizations, and programs for groups such as senior citizens, people with disabilities, and court referrals. School programs will be curriculum based and grade specific. Schoolchildren visit many other sites in Topeka, including the state capitol and the zoo. Site staff will help coordinate field trips, encouraging a team approach. Interior spaces should allow a variety of activities, group sizes, program types and lengths, etc. At the same time, there should be certain fixtures to allow classrooms to be darkened for audiovisual presentations, used as studios for direct video links, opened up for group discussions, or rearranged for dramatic presentations. As the site and its partners develop lesson plans, these may influence specific use and treatment of the interior spaces. Workshops for teachers and group leaders will be offered to enhance the quality of site visits, enable group leaders to provide some of the interpretation and monitoring during their visit, and engage in themerelated activities after their visit. Lesson plans and materials (such as traveling trunks and teacher curriculum guides) will be developed for enhanced pre and postsite visits and increased enjoyment and value of heritage education. Considerations for group visits will include bus dropoff and parking areas, a group staging area inside the school, flexible activity areas, places to put coats and lunches (restoring original furnishings may be adequate), curriculum materials, and having trained educators on staff. Groups will also use outdoor areas such as Cushinberry Park. Groups will be encouraged to make reservations; however, some unexpected arrivals should be expected.
Partnerships Partnership programs will be developed with organizations such as the Kansas Museum of History, Kansas State Historical Society, Kansas State University, University of Kansas, Washburn University, the Brown Foundation, and others. Partnerships will include activities such as research, training, educational programs, and curatorial activities.
VISITOR EXPERIENCE CONCEPTS The following were written individually by team members in the interpretive planning workshop. They are rough drafts, but they express individual visions of what the site should provide for visitors. Bracketed sections were added to clarify meaning. Each number represents an individual's contribution. Visitors will have opportunities to: 1. be able to see, feel, and interact with the story learn about American history before Brown v. Board, including what led up to and follows the case and some results of [it] 2. be inspired to work toward the nation's ideals of freedom and equality for all recognize [that] the struggle for freedom and equality always requires sacrifice become greater activists in improving the quality of life in their own communities, communities that include the whole gamut of diversity [have] heightened awareness of the complex issues and experiences involved in [the case] [be able to] translate the ideals of the Constitution into action or social policy 3. gain a greater understanding of the country and its development, especially the African American/white conflicts and struggles be able to personally relate to how the Brown v. Board decision affected change to or affects their lives today be inspired to learn more about this history and make a conscious effort to be more understanding of the rights of all people understand and appreciate that this event directly involved other people children of all races 4. learn more about the events and the situations of others related to Brown develop more understanding, compassion, and empathy want to learn more want to contribute as citizens, members of a community be more accepting of and interested in diverse perspectives, cultures, habits, etc. better understand their role in social power transactions 5. find [things] in the personal stories related at the site to empathize with, and to inform and inspire
see the site as a classic setting for storytelling a series of related although not necessarily chronological tales 6. identify with the individuals, events, and causes presented understand the needs and motivations for the actions and groups involved recognize the importance of the events and actions to their own values, desires, and lives recognizing that the consequences to/for some members of their society are consequences that will eventually accrue to all
INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN 7. stay longer than [they] originally 11. imagine, envision, be stimulated, be planned engaged, interact, participate, vote, choose, see, realize, make connections, feel the story: write, draw - tears - talking with others 12. understand that freedom requires a - return to the site personal involvement in the affairs of the nation 8. learn the facts associated with the Brown v. Board case understand the legacy of previous generations to ensure that freedom and feel the frustrations of individuals opportunity are granted to all involved Americans
be exposed to (and hopefully learn understand the striving for freedom from) the rationales for and against and dignity granted to all Americans segregation and discrimination as their birthright under the Constitution of the United States relate to the experiences of the individuals involved 13. remember that children in elementary schools in Topeka were central to a key look at segregation/discrimination from Supreme Court ruling regarding racial a new perspective discrimination and civil rights
9. view African Americans as a self determined people
ARCHIVAL AND PRIMARY RESOURCES AND INFORMATION understand the importance of the Constitution on a practical level Graphic Resources identify with what it feels like to as an unnecessary evil The Associated Press collections con be introduced to the players and faces tain photographs used in print news behind Brown media during the last 50 years. Researchers should submit fax requests 10. understand the meaning of Brown v. to Elvis Brathwaite at (212) 6211955; Board of Education he may be contacted via voice line at (212) 6211930 x1956. appreciate that Brown v. Board is an Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, American story of a people to claim the Excellence and Research. "Brown vs. Board powers embodied in the U.S. of Education, In Pursuit of Freedom & Constitution Equality: Kansas and the African American Public School Experience, 18551955."
want to make a positive difference in
Exhibit. (Funded in part by the Kansas
the world Humanities Council. Topeka, Kansas. 1993.) view their fellow man through "kinder" eyes Three copies of this exhibit exist; one is on display in the Washburn University
• Archival and Primary Resources and Information
Law Library in Topeka, one circulates across Kansas via the Kansas Humanities Council, and the third is available for loan nationwide through the Brown Foundation. Twelve panels present photographs and text that chronicle the African American migration into Kansas, the value of education, hopes and disappointments with deferred equal opportunities, the successes of black schools and early legal challenges to segregated schools, events and persons involved in the Brown case, and subsequent integration in Topeka and Little Rock Arkansas. The Brown Foundation plans to add a 13th panel on Charles Hamilton Houston and his cadre of Howard University proteges. They will publish a complete exhibit guide and a videotape of the same title, which is in production.
Douglas, Joe. Photograph Collection. The Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries. Lawrence, Kansas.
Douglas, a firefighter by profession, became the first African American fire chief for the Topeka Fire Department. He was active in the African American community and documented social aspects of segregated life, including photos of his daughter's segregated classroom at Washington School (one of only four schools for African American children in Topeka before 1954). He also photographed several scenes of fires and floods, new fire trucks, street scenes in Topeka, views from Menninger Hill, and various individuals. The collection contains 130 photographs.
Elbow, Mary, reporter, with photojournalist Woody Crable. "Brown vs. Board of Education." Threepart anniversary series, May 1994. KSNT, Channel 27 Television, Topeka, Kansas.
Mary Elbow completed this threepart series to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Brown I ruling. She
interviews seven members of Topeka's African American community who either attended segregated schools or participated in the legal case. Footage also includes a ca. 1950s film of children at Washington Elementary School. The report touches on Brown III, refiled in 1979 to protest the existence of 13 racially identifiable schools. In 1994 Judge Richard Rogers ordered Topeka's Unified School District 501 to implement a plan for the full integration of Topeka's public schools.
Elwood, William, et. al. "The Road to Brown: The Untold Story of the 'Man Who Killed Jim Crow"' (57 min). A presentation by the University of Virginia. California Newsreel, 1990. Videocassette.
A total of 216 students from the University of Virginia worked on this film about Charles Hamilton Houston. Born in 1895, Houston grew up in a welltodo family in Washington, D.C. He was aware, however, of the more common experiences that African Americans endured in segregated societies. This film tells about his work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and as dean of Howard University Law School. The young professionals trained at Howard formed a nucleus of civil rights attorneys who successfully attacked segregation in education, transportation, housing, and public accommodations.
Erbe, Bonnie, host. "To The Contrary." Broadcast 334, 18 November 1994. Maryland Public Television, Owings Mills, Maryland.
"To the Contrary" appears weekly on Public Broadcasting System stations across the country, with a panel of female journalists who comment on recent newsworthy events from a woman's point of view. This segment dealt with the Pacific Rim Trade Agreement, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Brown
legacy, including the littleknown role of the women plaintiffs. Ms. Erbe and her guests briefly discuss the continuing problem of segregation in public schools and the broader legacy of Brown. The broadcast provides a brief summary of the case, with interviews of three Brown plaintiffs: Mrs. Lucinda Todd, Mrs. Lena Carper, and Mrs. Vivian Scales.
Fanning, David. Marlene Booth, producer and director. "They Had a Dream: Brown v. Board of Education 25 Years Later." protests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Congress of Racial Equality, and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the freedom rides, the march on Washington, Freedom Summer, and the voter registration drive in Selma. Although the series comes with a viewer's guide, Juan Williams wrote a companion volume published in 1987 by Viking Press that provides a much more detailed look at these events.
Boston: WTBS Public Broadcasting System, ."Eyes on the Prize II: America at
1980.
Produced in 1980, this video documentary juxtaposes two case studies that represent some key issues and frustrations associated with school desegregation. It reviews the events of the Davis v. County School Board, Prince Edward County, Virginia, case 25 years after the Brown decision and focuses on the integration of South Boston, Massachusetts, schools in the late 1970s. Although viewers may see these cases as representing the stereotypic North and South, participants in both events show similar fears and responses. The South Boston example also illustrates the slow progress toward desegregation. Hampton, Henry, creator and executive producer. "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 19541965." Blackside, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, 1986.
Videocassettes. Soon after its release, educators and historians realized the lasting importance of this documentary series. The initial "Eyes on the Prize" films tell the story of the modern civil rights movement through interviews and dramatic film footage. The series begins with the Brown decision and murder of Emmett Till. Five subsequent videos trace the Montgomery bus boycott, Martin Luther King Jr.'s quick rise as leader of the movement, integration of Central High School, the nonviolent, the Racial Crossroads, 19651985." Blackside, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, 1989. Videocassettes. "Eyes on the Prize II" begins with the life of Malcolm X and increased frustration by many within the movement with nonviolent means. This series, comprised of eight videocassettes, covers the fragmentation of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the emergent Black Power movement, demonstrations/riots in northern cities, Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, and the formation of the Black Panther Party. The final segment focuses on 1980 racial tensions in Miami's suburbs, as contrasted with Harold Washington's election as the mayor of Chicago in the early 1980s. LIFE Picture Sales, Division of TimeLife Inc. The TIME Inc. Magazine Company, Rockefeller Center. New York, New York. The LIFE picture collection provided some very useful photographs and written notations regarding coverage of the Topeka and Farmville, Virginia, events. Carl Iwasaki took most of these photographs for LIFE magazine in the 1950s, and some images were used in later issues of TIME and People. Researchers should contact Janni Kalb to initiate a search through TIME I LIFE images. Various user fees apply for research, reproduction, and/or publication. New York WorldTelegram and The Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. This collection contains several photographs, owned by various news services, of U.S. Supreme Court justices and the Court building. It also includes one image of African American spectators waiting to attend the Brown hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, two photographs comparing a black and a white public school in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and a photo showing some officials in the Eisenhower administration.
Ross, Merrill. Photograph Collection. The Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries. Lawrence, Kansas. This collection contains 23 photographs. Ross was an elementary school principal and teacher in Topeka and also coached the African American basketball team at Topeka High School. He photographed the basketball team members, some games, and awards presentations. The collection provided one ca. 1949 photograph of grade school teachers in Topeka, scenes of a school dance, and the team bus parked in front of Monroe School.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Topeka. New York: SanbornPerris Map Company, 1896, 1913, and 1964. These maps, drawn at various intervals for use by insurance companies, provide wonderful detail about the spatial layouts of neighborhoods, as well as patterns of and materials used in construction. Maps dating to 1896, 1913, and 1964 show the first and second Monroe Elementary Schools and conditions of the neighborhood.
Archival and Primary Resources and Information
South Carolina Department of Archives and History Columbia, South Carolina Photograph Collection. This collection includes photos of four of the five schools named in the original petition bythe plaintiffs in Briggs v. Elliott. The Briggs case was the first of the school cases to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in 1952. The photos are of Summerton grade school for white children, Liberty Hill grade school for African American children, Summerton High School for white children, and Scotts Branch High School For African American children. The period of the photos is 194851.
State Historic Preservation Offices of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Kansas, and Virginia. These offices can provide national register and national historic landmark nominations for associated properties and possibly historic or survey photographs that might be useful.
Still Picture Branch, National Archives and Records Administration. College Park, Maryland. The National Archives houses its extensive historic photograph collection in its beautiful new building in College Park. This branch contains thousands of images, but apparently none of either Monroe or Sumner Elementary School or related cultural resources in Topeka. Researchers may find photographs of members of the Eisenhower administration, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court building, and other general images associated with the case. "Topeka." Aerial photographs. Salt Lake City: Aerial Photography Field Office, 1942, 1954, 1962, 1965, 1976, and 1986. Aerial photographs show the growth, development, and decline of some of Topeka's neighborhoods. Researchers may find copies of the following images
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in either the Engineering Division of the city of Topeka or in the Kansas Department of Transportation in Topeka: 26 May 1942 (ref. ZG2N82); 29 June 1954 (ref. ZG2N82); 1962 (ref. SN2379); 1965 (ref. SW 624); 1976 (ref. SN122234).
"Washington School." Film of school and students, circa late 1940s or early 1950s. Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas. Researchers should contact Dr. Pat Michaelas for more information about this film. Reporter Mary Elbow used excerpts in her reports for Topeka's NBC affiliate, Channel 27 news division.
DOCUMENTARY RESOURCES Board of Education, City of Topeka. Record of Minutes, 1933 through 1956. Administration Building, Unified School District 501. Topeka, Kansas. Minutes from school board meetings are held in the basement vault of the Unified School District 501 administration building. These records contain some information about the maintenance and staffing of the city's black schools, including Monroe Elementary School, and provide interesting discussions of the board's response and reaction to desegregation suits initiated by members of Topeka's African American community. Branyan, Robert L. and Lawrence H. Larsen, eds. The Eisenhower Administration, 19531961: A Documentary History. Volumes 1 & 2. New York: Random House, Inc., 1971. These two editors compiled specific documents taken from collections in the Eisenhower Library. They divided this reference work into thematic topics, with brief explanatory introductions at the beginning of each. Volume 1 provides Ike's "State of the
Union" addresses for 195356, and volume 2 contains the most useful documentation under the heading, "The Crisis over Civil Rights." Brown Foundation Collection. Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library. University of Kansas Libraries. Lawrence, Kansas. This collection, which is separate from the Oliver Brown Family Collection, contains administrative records and correspondence relating to the establishment of the foundation and the national historic site. Led by Cheryl Brown Henderson, the foundation lobbied for the designation of Monroe Elementary School as a national historic landmark and for its inclusion in the national park system. This collection contains original proofs of the traveling exhibit on the Brown decision and photos of Brown plaintiffs, early segregated schools, and African American educators. It includes photos of 8 of the 13 adult plaintiffs and 11 of the 20 children listed as minor petitioners. This collection contains minimal information about the Monroe School building. Brownell, Herbert. Oral history interview with Thomas Soapes. Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. Abilene, Kansas. 1977. Dr. Soapes guides Brownell through discussions of administrative matters, significant issues, events, and key personnel. As Eisenhower's attorney general, Brownell closely advised the president about procedural matters throughout his administration. Conversations about Eisenhower's reaction to the Brown decisions and Faubus' grandstanding are of particular interest. Burton, Harold H. Papers. Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. Available through interlibrary loan.
Case files #1441684, #14416147. Freedom of Information/ Privacy Act Office, Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice. Washington, D.C. The Department of Justice filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the appellants in the Brown hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. These case files contain correspondence within the department, between various state and federal agencies, and from citizens either supportive of or concerned about the Court's landmark ruling. Case #1441684 pertains most specifically to the Topeka case, whereas file #144 1617 deals with Bolling v. Sharpe. Clark, Kenneth Bancroft. Papers. Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C.
Dr. Clark, a nationally respected social psychologist, testified as an expert witness at the South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware cases and helped Carter and Marshall prepare arguments presented before the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. His papers contain valuable correspondence with NAACP Legal Defense Fund counsel, notes from correspondence between White House officials (including Eisenhower) and their counterparts in government, as well as with significant individuals. The general files do not hold as many useful documents, but they do contain letters and telegrams sent to Ike by private citizens expressing their concerns about integration and school closures in southern states. They also include files pertaining to "the Negro question" and "the NAACP. Eisenhower, Dwight D. The White House Years: Mandate for Change, 19531956. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1963. Researchers will be disappointed, but perhaps not surprised, at Eisenhower's brief mention of civil rights matters in this first volume of his autobiography (see pp. 234236). He provides coverage of the 1953 campaign, installation of new executive officers, foreign policy concerns (regarding Korea, the Middle East, NATO, and Indochina), domestic affairs, and his bid for reelection in 1956. The work provides limited contextual background for the school desegregation cases. conferences aimed at desegregation strategy, notes about Clark's studies on racism, and correspondence about the organization of a sociological advisory group. This collection provides critical primary documentation for serious researchers of Brown.
Douglas, William 0. Papers. Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. Available through interlibrary loan. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Records as President, White House Central Files, 19531961. Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. Abilene, Kansas. The White House central files are subdivided into the general and official files. The official files contain official Peace, 19561961. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1965. This second volume of Ike's The White House Years covers the events of his second administration. In a rather lengthy fashion, Eisenhower discusses the high points, his decision to retain Nixon as vicepresident, Middle East tension regarding Israel and the Suez Canal, Cold War diplomacy, proposed nuclear arms control, etc. In the midst of foreign policy, he also deals with domestic issues. Chapter 6, in particular, deals with civil rights, 195561, particularly the Faubus incident.
INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN
Ferrell, Robert H., ed. The Diary of James C. Hagerty: Eisenhower in MidCourse, 19541955. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983. James Hagerty served as Eisenhower's press secretary throughout his two terms as president. Hagerty kept a personal diary for only two of those years, 1954 and 1955. His diary contains very little information on Brown, with only one entry, that for 18 May 1954 (pp. 5354), which says that Eisenhower was personally disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision, but as president upheld its legal authority. Most of the entries provide information on McCarthy, foreign policy, cold war era politics, etc. Frankfurter, Felix. Papers. Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. Available through interlibrary loan. Friedman, Leon, ed. Argument: The Oral Argument Before the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 19521955. New York: Chelsea House, 1969. This very valuable resource provides verbatim copies of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court for the 1952, 1953, and 1955 hearings of the five school desegregation cases. Friedman includes brief biographies of justices and counsel, as well as the text of the decisions of Brown I and II. Kenneth Clark contributed an essay regarding the role of the social scientist, which was updated and reprinted in Pathos of Power. An introductory essay by Yale Kamisar reviews the causes and effects of the school cases.
Harry S Truman Library. Independence, Missouri. Hugh Speer refers to a collection of materials from the Topeka hearing before the U.S. District Court that he donated to the Truman Library. The name of the collection and its contents have not been verified. Hornsby, Benjamin F., Jr., Alexis J. Helsley, and Judith M. Brimelou. Written and photographic resource, Stepping Stone to the Supreme Court. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. 1992. This state agency produced and published a concise overview of the Clarendon County, South Carolina, case Briggs vs. Elliott. The document is part of a series entitled Topics in African American History. The publication contains a chronological look at events, people, and documents before, during, and after the Briggs case. Irons, Peter and Stephanie Guitton, eds. "'May it Please the Court...': Live Recordings of the Supreme Court in Session." Published in conjunction with the Earl Warren Bill of Rights project and the Northwest Public Affairs Network. New York: The New Press, 1993. This collection provides excerpts of arguments from selected cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, presented on six audiocassettes. A companion text provides transcripts of the selected excerpts and explanatory narration. Chief Justice Earl Warren began the practice of recording arguments in 1955. Irons and Guitton provide excerpts, with narration, of some of the Court's most significant cases since that time. Unfortunately, they did not include the arguments or opinion of Brown II. Researchers, however, may find six desegregation cases relevant to the 14th amendment's guarantee of "equal protection of the laws," particularly Cooper v. Aaron, Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. "Kansas NAACP: Topeka Chapter, 1940 1961." Microfilm Division, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas. Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, n.d. Microfilm. Available through interlibrary loan.
Marshall, Thurgood. Papers. Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. Despite opposition by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Marshall's papers are open to the general public. Most documents pertaining to his participation in the Brown case have been removed and placed in the restricted NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. collection. Some important correspondence remains, however, which provides information on Marshall's efforts to bring a segregation case to national attention. Letters and telegrams document Marshall's extensive travels to South Carolina, Louisiana, and beyond. The NAACP Papers (Group II, Series B) also contain some of Marshall's papers.
Morrow, E. Frederic. Black Man in the White House: A Diary of the Eisenhower Years by the Administrative Officer for Special Projects, The White House, 1955 1961. New York: CowardMcCann, Inc., 1963. Morrow joined Eisenhower's campaign staff in August 1952, became the Adviser on Business Affairs in the Department of Commerce in 1954, and one year later moved to the White House as the first African American staff member. This climb was a slow one, however, because Morrow met with reluctance and hesitancy on the part of Eisenhower's staff with each step. This autobiography traces, in diary format, Morrow's days in the White House where he acted as liaison with African American leaders and civil rights groups from 1955 to 1961. Although loyal to Eisenhower, Morrow expresses frustration with the administration's halting civil rights record and with Ike's reluctance to regard him as a fully trustworthy professional.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Collection. Papers. Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. Researchers may find legal documents and correspondence pertaining to the school desegregation cases in group II, series B under the broad file heading, "SchoolsKansasTopeka Brown v. Board of Education." Folders contain some of Thurgood Marshall's correspondence, items from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and letters regarding the Webb v. School District No. 90 case, which was prosecuted in Merriam, Kansas.
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. Papers. Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. Access to this collection is closed. Despite correspondence with Donna Gloechner and Ted Shaw, access has not been granted to the National Park Service. Oliver Brown Family Collection. Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries. Lawrence, Kansas. Currently unaccessioned and uncatalogued, this collection contains Brown family photos and a family scrapbook of news clippings published to mark anniversaries of the decision. Additional clippings include news articles about the establishment of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Sites. Since Oliver Brown died in 1961 there are few photos of him. The collection includes several photos of the Brown children, including Linda at various ages and Cheryl as a student at formerly all white Sumner Elementary School in 1961 and as a teacher at Monroe Elementary School in 1972. Only one primary document, a partial copy of Oliver Brown's testimony, in included in the collection. "Oliver Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas." Legal case file. Microfilm Division, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Microfilm. This microfilm reel contains a photographic positive image of the entire Brown case file, which is retained in the National Archives. The Kansas State Historical Society provides it to researchers via interlibrary loan. Records of the Attorney General's Office. "Segregation" and "Brown vs. Board of Education" Files. State Agency Records. Center for Historical Research, Kansas State Historical Society. Topeka, Kansas.
These files contain important correspondence for the period 195163 pertaining to the Brown case, including prosecution of the Topeka case at the U.S. District and Supreme Court levels. Records also include letters between the Attorney General's office and attorneys representing the Topeka Unified School District, and some correspondence with the Justice Department, other state attorneys general, counsel with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., and counsel for plaintiffs in the complementary cases. The collection also contains copies of two surveys regarding school desegregation (1953 and 1954) that the Attorney General's office sent to some school systems in Kansas and the responses. Records of the Governor's Office. Governor Edward F. Arn (195155): "General Correspondence" and "Subject" Files. State Agency Records. Center for Historical Research, Kansas State Historical Society. Topeka, Kansas. This collection provides very little information on the Topeka case. Documents had been removed from at least two files pertaining to race relations in the state. Other files contained some correspondence with the Attorney General's office, the Antidiscrimination Commission, speeches made by Governor Arn, and letters expressing citizens' concerns about desegregation. Schopler, Ernest H., ed. Cases Argued and Decided in the Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1953. Book 98, Lawyers' Edition. Rochester, N.Y.: The Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, 1954. This reference provides descriptions of legal arguments used in Brown v. Board of Education and Bolling v. Sharpe, found on pages 87387. It serves as a companion guide for the official Supreme Court decision and gives citations for litigation associated with forms of discrimination and racial segregation. Available in most university libraries. Scott, Charles Sheldon. Papers. Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library. University of Kansas Libraries. Lawrence, Kansas. With his legal associates in Topeka, Scott represented the 13 plaintiffs in the Brown case before the U.S. District and Supreme Courts. His papers contain personal correspondence with his father, Elisha Scott, during his military service in World War II. It also provides information about Scott's participation in various anniversaries celebrating the landmark decision. Working case files and correspondence with members of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. were of particular interest. Sobeloff, Simon E. Papers. Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. Sobeloff served as solicitor general in the Eisenhower administration. His papers provide little primary documentation, but they do contain printed copies of briefs and arguments presented to the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown and companion cases. Speer, Hugh. The Case of the Century: A Historical and Social Perspective on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, With Present and Future Implications. Kansas City: University of MissouriKansas City, 1968. Speer, a professor of education at the University of MissouriKansas City, testified about the comparative conditions of public schools in the Topeka case. He subsequently wrote about his involvement, including discussions of his experiences in the course of the trial as an "expert" witness with long, verbatim excerpts of testimony. It is an extremely useful resource and provides an interesting perspective from one of the participants. Unfortunately, the typewritten manuscript is not widely available. "Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools." Case files. Kansas State Historic Preservation Office, Topeka, Kansas. These files provide information about the documentation, physical conditions, and preservation of Monroe and Sumner Elementary Schools. One can find seven black and white, surveytype photographs, circa 1970s, as well as a paper trail of correspondence regarding the acquisition of Monroe by the National Park Service. The Center for National Policy Review. Papers. Manuscript Division, The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. William L. Taylor, a civil rights attorney, created this agency in 1970 as a civil rights "watchdog" to monitor federal programs and legislation, and to disseminate information about government actions that affected minority rights. This collection holds records from 1959 to 1986, primarily Taylor's correspondence and speeches, Documentary Resources administrative documents, amicus curiae briefs filed in various cases, and printed secondary materials. These papers may interest researchers working on desegregation cases/issues in the 1960s and 1970s, but only provides some secondary articles for those working on Brown v. Board. Note that the donor has restricted access to this collection, so researchers must first obtain written permission to view it. Warren, Chief Justice Earl. The Memoirs of Earl Warren. Garden City: Doubleday & Company Inc., 1977. The life of Earl Warren touches on many issues that carried great weight in mid20th century America. He reviews his childhood in California to his adult career as attorney general and governor of the state. Eisenhower appointed Warren as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1953, an act he later regretted. After his tenure on the Court, Warren headed the commission that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This autobiography explores each of these periods, and provides useful coverage of the Brown I and II decisions in the mid 1950s. Whitman, Ann. File. "Dwight D. Eisenhower: Papers as President, 1953 1961." Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. Abilene, Kansas. Ann Whitman served as Ike's administrative secretary throughout his two terms. This collection includes several subunits, or series, such as the Whitman diary, the Dwight D. Eisenhower diary, the Cabinet Series, Names Series, and Press Conference Series. It provides valuable documentation of correspondence, telephone calls, meetings, public announcements, and interoffice memoranda. Wilson, Paul E. Papers. Manuscript Collections, Center for Historical Research, Kansas State Historical Society. Topeka, Kansas.
Paul Wilson served as the assistant attorney general of Kansas in the 1950s and argued on the state's behalf before the U.S. Supreme Court. His papers include very little about the Brown proceedings. The collection provides information on Wilson's failed attempt to join the Kansas Supreme Court, prison reform efforts, and his teaching career at the University of Kansas. Wilson has also written about his experiences: see A Time To Lose: Representing Kansas in Brown v. Board of Education (1995); "Brown v. Board of Education Revisited," Kansas Law Review 12, no. 4 (May 1964): 507 24; "Speech on Brown v. Board of Education, May 1, 1981," Kansas Law Review 30, no. 1 (fall 1981): 1525. Wyatt, Walter, Reporter of Decisions. Cases Adjudged in The Supreme Court at October Term, 1953 (February 1 through June 7, 1954). United States Reports, vol. 347. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1954. This source, readily available in most university libraries, contains the U.S. Supreme Court decisions for Brown v. Board of Education and Bolling v. Sharpe on pages 483500. Available in most university libraries.
ORAL HISTORIES Crowder, Ralph and Jean Vandelinder. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Oral History Collection. Center for Historical Research, Kansas State Historical Society. Topeka, Kansas. Cooperative effort sponsored by the Washburn University School of Law, Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence, and Research, and the Kansas State Historical Society, with funding from Hallmark Cards and the Shawnee County Historical Society. Interviews completed as of August 1995. Fiftyone interviews with former Topeka plaintiffs, counsel who argued the Brown case, and those on the periphery of the main events have been completed to date. Many contain very useful information about participant involvement in and sentiment about the outcome of Brown and the tenor of Topeka's African American community in the 1950s. This collection includes two key interviews, one with Rovert Carter, NAACP counsel who along with local Topeka attorneys argued Brown, and Jack Greenberg, member of legal team who took over after Thurgood Marshall as director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Currently, the Kansas State Historical Society places restrictions on photocopy of and quotation from the transcripts. Interviews with participants in the Virginia and South Carolina cases have been completed, with plans underway for Washington, D.C. and Delaware. Greenberg has written about his experiences see Crusaders in the Courts (1944); Race Relations in American Law (1959), and (with Herbert Hill) A Citizen 1s Guide to Desegregation (1979). Hagerty, James. Oral history interview by Ed Edwin. Columbia University Oral History Project. Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. Abilene, Kansas. 19671968. Historians owe a great debt to Hagerty for providing seven interviews (comprising four volumes) to Ed Edwin in 1967 and 1968. A trained journalist, he joined Ike's campaign via the Dewey camp, serving as Eisenhower's press secretary through both administrations. Hagerty discusses both key national affairs and daily White House logistical problems. This broad span covers such topics as foreign relations with Korea, Mexico, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Vietnam, political wrangling in the 1952 Republican convention, selection of Nixon as vice president, 1960 election. Brown researchers will find some coverage of domestic affairs in volume 2 (interview #4), pertaining to civil rights issues, the Little Rock incidents, and Ike's general attitudes towards presidential responsibilities, the separation of powers, and school desegregation. Volume 4 (interview #6) provides some mention of Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. Marshall, Thurgood. Oral history by Dr. Hugh Speer. Hugh Speer Collection. Overland Park, Kansas. 1967. Dr. Speer discusses issues of school integration with Thurgood Marshall along with questions on his experiences growing up in a segregated America. Much of the interview focuses on his work as director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund during the critical era of legal challenges in higher education and public schools. The interview has been transcribed, and Dr. Speer has produced several papers from this work. Morrison, H. Graham. Oral history interview with Jerry N. Hess. Harry S. Truman Library. Independence, Missouri. August 1972. Morrison served as assistant attorney general and head of the Civil Division in the Truman administration. Ness conducted this interview in four sessions in August 1972, delving into Morrison's work in the Justice Department. They discuss the establishment of the Civil Division and early federal prosecutions pertaining to civil rights. The transcript provides a glimpse of some important, but often overlooked, civil rights activity by Truman's administration in the late 1940s. Morrow, E. Frederic. Oral history interview with Thomas Soapes. Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. Abilene, Kansas. 23 February 1977. Soapes begins his interview with a discussion of Morrow's work at the Department of Commerce. They quickly move on, however, to his years on Eisenhower's White House staff. Researchers may find the interview to be quite interesting, particularly when accompanied by Morrow's autobiography. Although loyal to his commanderinchief, Morrow does reveal some tensions associated with his African American heritage. Rabb, Maxwell. Oral history interview with Steven Lawson. Columbia University Oral History. Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. Abilene, Kansas. 6 October 1970. This transcript contains valuable information about Rabb's involvement in civil rights matters during the Eisenhower administration. Although he served primarily as secretary to the cabinet, Rabb also handled these matters. He discusses Eisenhower's attitudes/opinions, to some extent, E. Frederic Morrow's work, and efforts to desegregate naval bases in Norfolk and Charleston.
Oral history interview with David Horrocks. Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. Abilene, Kansas. 13 May 1975. This transcript contains very little on civil rights issues. Rabb primarily discusses his role as secretary to the cabinet, a new position created by Eisenhower to organize these weekly meetings. Descriptions of the deliberation process make fascinating reading but do not directly pertain to Brown research. The transcript ends with a lengthy discussion of negotiations with Congressmen for the passage of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953. Scott, Charles S. Oral History Interview by James C. Duram and Robert Bunting. Dwight D. Eisenhower library. Abilene, Kansas. 25 June 1970. Professor Duram and his graduate student, Robert Bunting, conducted this interview with Scott on June 25, 1970. He recounts his involvement with the Brown case from Topeka to the U.S. Supreme Court, explaining the involvement of Oliver Brown and counsel's use of social theory to attack segregation. The transcript of this oral history interview provides some good details about the initiation of the case in Topeka, coordination with counsel from the national NAACP office, and compilation with the other four school cases. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The university has an oral history collection of 60 interviews regarding the history of race relations in Greensboro, 1950s1970s. Transcripts are available for most interviews. For more information, please contact Dr. William A. Link, Department of History, University of North Carolina, 219 Mclver Building, Greensboro, North Carolina 274125001, (910) 334 5992. Warren, Chief Justice Earl. Oral history interview with Jerry N. Hess. Harry S. Truman Library. Independence, Missouri. 11 May 1972. Warren discusses his career in California and Washington, but also speaks about the general erosion of civil rights in the 1920s and 1930s. He credits the Vinson Court for chipping away at the "separate but equal" doctrine, thus paving the way for subsequent desegregation cases to overturn it completely. Wilson, Paul E. Oral history interview by James Duram. Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. Abilene, Kansas. 19 June 1970. Wilson granted this interview with Dr. James Duram on June 19, 1970. He discusses his role as assistant attorney general during the appeal of the Brown case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Researchers may find Wilson's discussion of Kansas Attorney General Fatzer's correspondence with his fellow attorneys general and Wilson's analysis of the Supreme Court's ruling. He is also included in the Brown v. Board of Education Oral History Collection. PERTINENT NEWSPAPERS Researchers will find important articles and possibly photographs in these and undoubtedly other newspapers. Coverage coincided with significant events in the progress of the hearings as well as with each tenth anniversary marking the May 17, 1954 Brown I ruling. Atlanta JournalConstitution Charleston News & Courier Los Angeles Times Richmond TimesDispatch The Chicago Tribune The Kansas City Star & Times The New York Times The Topeka Plaindealer The Washington Post Topeka Capital Journal (formerly, Topeka Daily Capital) A photographer with the newspaper in the 1950s1970s apparently took prints with him when he retired. No other information about specific photographs is available; however, appropriate newspaper pages could be reproduced for publication, upon approval. • Topeka State Journal Virginian Pilot Wilmington News Journal |
Last updated: May 24, 2023